E&I Craft Review

As part of my role on a daily basis I must perform routine planned and breakdown maintenance on electrical and instrumentation plant equipment. Receive a pre-job brief outlining job which is signed on by the safe systems controller, perform job and complete paperwork outlining work completed. Hand back to team leader and perform a post job review

I have developed my knowledge of electrical and instrumentation plant equipment throughout my 2 year plant placement. I have learned how to integrate into a team and communicate with my team leader to ensure that the status of the job is known once complete. I have gained knowledge on a wide range of plant equipment, fault finding and installation work as needed

I have enjoyed the on-site experience but found the Gen2 training to be inadequate and repetitive. Second year was a repeat of first year could have been more content and a wider range to make it more enjoyable. Things improved as I went on site and started working on real equipment, everyday is different and I learned more in the first month then I did in the first 2 years with Gen2!

As stated in the last section the Gen2 training was not well organised with lots of repetition and not enough content meaning that there was a lot of time sitting around. The Sellafield LTD on-site training was a lot better structured and was kept busy and constantly progressing my learning

Sellafield LTD have been very supportive with an on-plant mentor and apprentice coordinator. I have been able to book meetings and see them with any problems which may have hindered my progress. I have always been given time in work to complete my NVQ work and been given time to see assessor throughout my placement.

The support when I was training with Gen2 was not very personal, there was too many apprentices and was hard to get time with mentors and instructors. When completing my tech cert (BTEC) I was not given much support by the teachers to enable me to achieve the top results, therefore I had to do a lot of research myself

I feel that completing my tech cert allows me to get a better knowledge of the theory behind electrical and instrumentation equipment and how they fit into the larger picture. The NVQ allows me on site experience and learning by using equipment in person, I feel this is more beneficial than classroom training.

At my work place there is courses that can be attended in order for my to further my knowledge and allow me to complete different aspects of my trade. There is some open day events for companies to come in and demonstrate their equipment and we sometimes attend these to see if they could be implemented on our plant.

Yes

The company is well established and has a wide range of equipment and buildings which all deal with different aspects of the electrical trade. They are supportive and provide all training needed for the jobs to be completed safely and efficiently. A range of shift patterns are available enabling flexibility in working times.

Research the company and know the history of how it came about. Research the electrical and instrumentation trade and what is expected of you. Try and get experience in the electrical trade before applying, even if this is general in engineering or involves work experience either of these will help you secure an apprenticeship.