Trainee service delivery engineer Review

Provision and repair of customers telephone and broadband service. Faults can include overhead and eventually underground, however this comes upon successful completion of the NVQ. I work in both the copper and fibre network to ensure we keep customers connected and achieving super fast broadband where applicable. Additional skilling comes as and when the company dictate the requirement for it.

I have learnt from scratch all about the telephone network and how we use this network to supply our customers with super fast broadband on a daily basis. I have learnt the correct methods used to provide a new service as well as learnt how to fault on existing services to ensure any faults are repaired to provide optimum service.

On a day to day basis, I thoroughly enjoy my job and interacting with many different customers, however the support offered during my NVQ and training periods has been somewhat woeful. The business requirements have often superseded the requirements to learn and develop my skills to aid me in being fully compliant with quality standards as well as ensuring I know how to fully repair faults first time around.

I have to say I think the structure of the programme has been very poor. The allocated study days are not very constructive. Sat around tables in a very dreary room with little to no support offered from the NVQ assessor. I feel the structure of the whole NVQ needs an overhaul, including the hugely overwritten NVQ.

My employer offers 10 study days, but these are rushed and the onus seems to be more on the fact that our work stacks are high and the NVQ often takes a backseat whilst we are pushed to work more and more to fulfil our minimum service requirements with OFCOM.

My training provider is the same as my employer and so my statement above is still relevant and the onus is more upon getting customers in service, rather than the continued learning and development of the apprentices. I think some serious work needs doing on this side of the apprenticeship.

I feel my qualification isn't very beneficial at all. Most of my learning is done on the job and to write about my work afterwards doesn't consolidate anything. It merely appears that the apprenticeship is used as a way of maintaining a cheaper wage for the first year of employment.

I don't think there are any extra curricular activities available through my work place. We have had one team get together on an evening prior to Christmas, although aside from this, I don't think anything takes place outside of the work based arena as most of the team keep their personal and work life separate.

Yes

Although the whole apprenticeship scheme has been a bit of a con and seems like cheap labour for the first year of employment, I do thoroughly enjoy my new career and I do think they are an excellent company to work for. We just need to iron out a few issues with the way we conduct our work and also overhaul the whole of the NVQ.

I would say make sure that you are fully conversant with the position you are applying for and try to get the NVQ finished sooner rather than later, as there appears to be a huge demand on meeting service levels prior to the new financial year and this often takes priority with workshops and learning opportunities cancelled if we experience foul weather/increases in provision.