Civil Engineer Review

I am an apprentice working towards my degree, so I do 6-month placements rotating around the different disciplines of Civil Engineering like Project Management, Safety, Environment and Site Engineering. On a day to day basis, I go onto site, liase with contractors and chair meetings for my team. I get put onto different projects but they’re usually fun and I learn loads.

I am working towards a degree so I’m learning loads academically at uni, and doing three modules with coursework and exams at the end of the year. This is all in order to work towards becoming qualified with the ICE. I do lots of internal training with EDF alongside learning lots in my role on site in a more practical way.

I very much enjoy my programme in all its ways, both being on site and learning at university. I have a range of roles and responsibilities which makes everyday different and being on a team of people that respect and value your opinion is great. EDF is a great place to work, with loads of opportunities in loads of different sectors.

It is a very well organised programme, we have 8 weeks a year at university in the form of four, two week blocks. The learning is well structured and fits alongside 6-month placements at work which enable me to get all the skills I need for my degree and career.

There is lots of support from the company, I have an assignment manager which changes every 6 months, a career manger who will stay with me for the entirety of the scheme and a supportive Early Careers team who help with any queries I have. They all give me different types of support and overall, I get all the guidance I need and I always feel that I can reach out with whatever issues I might have.

There is a lot of support from the university, i have the course leaders and administrators who are there for overall queries we have about the course, and they focus a lot on feedback so our voices are heard. Then we have academic tutors and our lecturers, who are always there to support us in our learning and take on our feedback about the programme.

All the knowledge I learn at uni are translated to skills and behaviours on site, especially in the module Professional Studies and Skills Development where we focus on the key behaviours on being an engineer, e.g. report writing and meeting organisation. All this contributes to me performing better at work.

At work we have lots of networks e.g the Young Professionals Network where there are loads of social events and opportunities to network and meet new people from across a range of EDF offices. There are plenty of professional networking events such as the Apprenticeship conferences we have on site.

Yes

EDF is a great place to work at, there are endless opportunities to further your career and find out what you really want to pursue. They are involved in so many sectors so getting a job at EDF means that your career can progress in many different directions, and they as a company are very supportive of that.

Being prepared is a really important thing for the application process and assessment centre if you have to do one. Make sure you do some research about EDF and what role they play as a large energy supplier, as well as making sure you come across as yourself when you go for interview, because they want to get to know you, try not to be nervous!