Life Science Apprentice Review

I currently work in a quality laboratory testing active pharmaceutical ingredients to ensure they don't contain any impurities that may affect the consumer at the end of the supply chain, this involves scientific analysis of classical techniques such as FTIR, UV, Sulphated ash and Chromatography including HPLA and HPLC.

Through out my time as an apprentice I have developed multiple skills, my main two being team work and communication. I work in a department daily and it is important that we maintain a high level of communication to ensure that all of our batches are released to the site on time and notify people on delays

I thoroughly enjoy my apprenticeship programme, I have been given many opportunities to take part in projects with multiple people that I would not normally get the chance to meet. I also was lucky enough to be able to carry on developing my education while completing a HNC in applied sciences at Dundee and Angus College one day a week.

When I first started my apprenticeship, there was not a proper structure in place for the programme. I decided to take it upon myself to communicate with apprentices from other GSK sights to get an insight to their structure and try and implicate a structure of our own at GSK Montrose

Despite my managers increased responsibilities and workload, she always finds time to ensure that the apprentices continue to seek opportunities to develop and she provides help whenever required, she truly goes above and beyond what is expected. She has supported me through successfully completing my two-year HNC Applied Science course, along with helping provide evidence for my SVQ and nominating me for multiple opportunities throughout the company, for example, being involved with internal and external visitors on site which allowed me to have discussions about the company and our future

I was assigned every Friday at work to work on my college and SVQ qualification along with attending the college every Monday. This allowed me to be able to complete any tasks and ensure that I never fell behind on any work. This also gave me time to study for my exams which allowed me to earn high grades.

My HNC qualification that I received through my programme allowed me to gain more of the theory knowledge behind the analysis that I carry out in my day to day job. I've also been able to take on extra responsibilities while completing my SVQ which has helped me preform better in my role

I have been travelling to England and Wales a couple of times to meet with other apprentices at different GSK sites, this involved team working activities from classroom work to sports events such as canoeing, hill climbing and go-karting. I have also been part of teams within the work to help develop our latest method of communication, workplace.

Yes

I have extremely enjoyed working at GSK and I have developed my personal skills including confidence and communication and it has also allowed me to become more responsible. I have met many great people within the company which has inspired me to continue working for GSK for many years to come.

GSK strongly focuses on our expectations and values, so I would advise ensuring that you are willing to do the right thing for the customer at the end of the change no matter how challenging the activity is. I would also recommend not being scared to apply more than once as I was offered a job the second time I applied.