Nuclear Engineering Degree Apprentice Review

When I am at work I will often spend time in apprentice workshops, improving my hands-on technical skills on a variety of different equipment. I can also be spending time working with an employee on placement where I will work on existing projects, offering advice and expertise on tasks, whilst also gaining experience from new tasks

Yes, I have really developed my technical knowledge after getting my first hands on experience on a variety of different tasks. The variety of tasks has enabled me to see how different tools can be used with techniques to achieve finishes and complete each task. I have also improved my professional communication skills while speaking to colleagues and managers. I have also developed my personal learning skills through my studies towards my degree.

I really enjoy my program and am still so grateful for the opportunity and take every new opportunity that is offered to me. The role has allowed me to mix with new individuals and hear new voices and ideas which have been so eye-opening. I have so many likeminded colleagues who are all so driven with their goals that it is encouraging to me to follow my own

While there has been some disruption to the programme due to the pandemic I would say that the structure has been consistent throughout and I am still meeting the deadlines as expected and have begun my placements when originally expected to. Ideally I would have been in work more often in the past 12 months but given the circumstances I am content with my progress.

I have received lots of support from my employer during my programme as I have spent time away from work at university towards the degree element of my course. It was a healthy level of support as they were happy to let us get on with our work and made us aware we were able to contact them if we had any problems. There has been times where greater communication would have been appreciated but these issues seem to been resolved for now.

The training providers have been very helpful with our adjustment to higher education alongside meeting the requirements from work. It would have been appreciated however if some elements of the programme were explained in more detail at the beginning as this may have alleviated some confusion, but overall its been good

I feel that this course enables me to develop both personally and professionally to help me perform better in my role. This also increases my ability to encounter problems and overcome them with techniques which I have developed through my experiences at work, university and in my personal life. The theory I learn seems to be very relevant to my role and is preparing me well

There is the an association for apprentices that host social events and these have proven to be very popular however due to the current circumstances they have been put on hold. One request I would have is that the extra-curricular activities are more widely promoted as currently they are not widely accesible.

Yes

The opportunities offered to me by AWE have been incredible and the possibilities are endless. I would encourage people to look into applying for AWE's apprenticeships or similar elsewhere as I feel that these type of apprenticeships are a fantastic opportunity to balance theoretical and practical studies to develop your knowledge and build experiences

Be yourself and explain how you would benefit from the opportunities that the company has to offer. Do research and read into the role description fully to get an understanding of what is being asked of you and then use this to project your personal skills and experiences to complete your application