Electrical Maintenance Review

When I am at work I am tasked with completing practical tasks relevant to electrical engineering. For example my first task my first day was to wire a plug. We also have to write up the practical tasks that we do to make sure we understand the health and safety and the principals of what we are working on.

Coming into the apprenticeship I knew very little about electrical engineering. About 8 months in and I feel very confident working on basic electrical circuits. Also I have learned to look for health and safety issues. I have developed my team working skills. Finally, I have learnt about electrical testing.

I enjoy my programme because I work in a unique environment. Each day I am working on something different and therefore I am not frequently bored. The instructors are very friendly and so are the people I work with. I am given good access to facilities and I feel I am taken care of.

My programme is organized well so that we have charts on a wall that we can use to track our progress easily and visually. When an instructor has checked that we have met all of the requirements to complete it, they can ‘sign it off’ on the chart. Therefore I think it is well structured.

I receive a good amount of support from my employer in many different ways. This includes regular support with day to day tasks and also extra support with non work related things. This includes mental health issues and any support with loneliness for people who live alone and are self isolating, for example.

My training provider uses monthly catch up meeting me to discuss my progress through practical tasks and ‘write ups’. They also check in on my college progress and make sure I am doing enough for that too. So overall I feel I receive plenty of support towards college qualifications and the apprenticeship as a whole too.

The things I learn through the theory side of my work has helped me with the practical side. This includes cable calculations and risk assessments. Any theory work that I haven’t used yet in practical, I am made to understand in case I do need to use it in the future.

We have something called the apprentice activity association. This is a group of volunteers who set up activities that are not work related. One of these for example is air soft. In addition to this, we have a recreational society where we can participate in many different sports and games.

Yes

I would recommend this to a friend because it is an excellent opportunity to work in a unique environment and to work with great people. It gives a great sense for the world of work and for people my age that is great. Also it is perfect for people who have a ‘hands on’ approach to learning.

I would say to them, make sure you attend all open days / assessment days to make sure you are familiar with the business because it is most likely not like any where they have worked before. The application process is long but is worth it. Finally, I would say to them to be themselves in the interview and not panic.