Telecommunications Engineer Review

by BT

Best Apprenticeship Employer

Rating

9/10

1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

Installing and repairing telecoms for private and business customers. So far a lot of my time has also been spent training and gaining experience. I have a lot of support from management and coaches and also from my colleagues. There is a lot to learn which makes the job interesting.

9/10

2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

Almost everything I have learned has been new to me as I have no engineering experience. I have learned how to install and repair telephone and internet systems for both private and professional customers. The skills that I brought with me and have developed are customer service and self administration.

9/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

I enjoy it as it is good to get away from the workplace once a month and concentrate on more theoretical learning. Having to gather lots and lots of photographs as evidence has not been enjoyable though as it can be difficult to do given that I am only allocated certain types of work.

9/10

4. How well organised/structured is your programme?

It's very well organised, and we have managed to get extra sessions in order to catch up on study. The assessor is very experienced and knows how best to couch our answers so that we get good marks. The only down side has been missing sessions due to work load.

9/10

5. How much support do you receive from your employer?

Given that all of the learning takes place during work hours I'd have to say that we get a huge amount of support. Different managers have been more or less involved with my learning path and I have to say that my latest manager has been excellent in this respect.

9/10

6. How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

We get an appropriate amount of support which is tailored towards the learning needs of each apprentice. For example, some of the people in my group have needed to resit IT examinations so extra sessions were arranged for coaching towards this end. The assessor has also always been available for advice via email.

9/10

7. How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

Everything I have learned has been relevant to the job that I do. I have put almost everything that I have learned into practice and feel that I now know a lot more about the telecoms industry than when I started. The whole experience has been enjoyable.

9/10

8. Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

Not that I know of.

9/10

9a. Would you recommend BT to a friend?

Yes

9b. Why?

It's an ok place to work, the money's not bad for an apprenticeship, and we seem to be taken care of.

10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BT?

Don't know really, pay attention?