Control Systems Apprentice Review

On a day to day basis, modification work can be carried out for systems. As well as job cards which can include regular maintenance tasks on systems. there is also a need to respond to any breakdowns or faults on any of the systems we take care of. these can be on PLCs or other types of control systems.

I have learnt many new skills, as I wasn't really very familiar with the different types of control systems and had quite a basic knowledge on these. But now though training provided to me I feel confident working on many different types of systems. I have also gained new skills such as being able to fault find on systems and identify any issues.

My apprenticeship programme was quite enjoyable as there was lots of different training and development opportunities. These were for things I had never done before and therefore it was quite interesting to earn about how all these work and how we use control systems in our everyday tasks in life.

My apprenticeship was structured quite well. During the first year of my apprenticeship I gained a basic training in electrical, this gave me a background in electrical engineering which I would apply for the rest of my apprenticeship. In the second year the training became more specific on control systems, in this we would have 10 week projects on the different types of control systems and different areas which we could be placed.

there is lots of support gained from the employer, people will often help and guide you within your training. and provided tasks for you to do which can further increase your knowledge on the systems and equipment worked on. There is many people you can ask for support throughout the apprenticeship too.

When working towards the qualification, I didn't really have much input form the training provider. The only time I would have any contact with the training provider would be for things such as reviews, which happened roughly every 10 weeks. these would be to check on our progress and raise any issues we may have had. They only really checked the NVQ work at the end of the apprenticeship to check that it was okay to be verified. as we had assessors which worked within control systems which checked our work .

By completing the NVQ I feel like I gained a batter knowledge on some of the systems I will be working on in the future, this is as part of the NVQ I had to perform modifications on the systems and write these up. Therefore this gave me a chance to investigate the control systems and look in depth into how they work and what I can do as part of my modification on the systems.

I haven't personal been involved in any. However people do take part in the apprenticeship cup, in which they will go sailing. This can be used as a team building exercise. As a group of apprentices will spend a week sailing and in this time they will do everything themselves such as watching out in the night, cleaning cooking etc. There is also national apprentice challenge that people can get involved in.

Yes

There are a lot of different opportunities for learning from working in the company. There are a range of different places which people can work, and they have the chance to work on some really new equipment used there as well as some very old legacy equipment which is still being used.

I would advice people to know exactly what they are getting into. As people have often got into one of the apprenticeship schemes and then decided that it might not be for them. Therefore I would strongly advice that people done a sufficient amount of research carried out that is definitely the right decision for them.