TSO Advanced Apprentice – Electronics Engineer Review

I meet up with trained engineers who show me what they are doing and in turn teach me how to do the tasks. I have participated in compaction tasks mainly and feel confident doing this work. Other days I do work on my NVQ, this can be challenging sometimes, but I know that I can contact my assessor with any difficulties I may be having.

I have learnt how to use a number of different systems and am looking forward to learn more about PDH,SDH, AXE10 and System X. I have also become familiar with a number of engineering acronyms, which seemed completely overwhelming and daunting at first. I still have plenty to learn, but I welcome it.

I thoroughly enjoy working with some of the more qualified engineers, who make the tasks at hand easy to understand and fun to do. There is an awful lot to learn but having people willing to teach as well as make it fun make the process enjoyable. I have been very proactive in seeking various engineers to buddy up with in order to broaden my knowledge.

I do believe there could be slightly more structure to the programme in terms of direct engineer learning. I believe that if we were able to sit down and make basic notes on different systems such as; PDH,SDH, AXE10 and System X. It would be easier to buddy up with a trained engineer and would also be easier on the engineer teaching as you would have a basic knowledge.

There are numerous ways in which we can be supported, starting with the engineer you buddy up with to the various phone lines you could seek advice from, as well as online systems (including workplace). You also can contact your assessor, line manager or even college teach if you require additional support. I believe the amount of support is exceptional.

At college, our teacher has been incredibly supportive. You can ask questions whenever you want and if you don't understand the answer the teacher will find various other ways to give you an answer that makes sense to you specifically, so that you completely understand. The teacher has supported us completely through this process.

At present I am unclear as to how much my qualification impacts on my performance, as I believe I still have a lot of on the job training to complete. However, I do believe through learning more in the field and carrying out various task required by myself my qualification will be invaluable to my performance at work.

My team is in the process of organising a social gathering, that I am excited to be a part of. I know that BT in its own right have many professional networking events as I was involved in some during my induction. Whilst being at college I have participated in social activities with my class as well.

Yes

I have recommended BT to many friends as I believe it is a great place to start a career in engineering, due to the amount of training and support provided to you. I am aware that all companies have negative attributes, but I believe that these are somewhat minimal at BT compared to where I have previously been. The opportunities to develop and progress are endless.

I would simply say that if engineering is something you wish to pursue (even if you have no previous knowledge of the field) BT are great at providing you with the tools to start and from what I can tell they excel at helping you develop to find where you want to go, belong, or even how to get there.