Maintenance Engineering Apprentice Review

My role at the factory is to keep the lines that produce the numerous drinks that Britvic provides, running. This is usually done through measures such as planned maintenance, or reactive Maintenance where I have to fix an issue that has just occurred which needs to be resolved in the shortest time possible to ensure that the lines are down for the shortest possible time.

I have learned and developed numerous new skills whilst I have been working for Britvic, for example, I have improved my knowledge, understanding, and competence in electrics. This has allowed me to do more complex jobs at work to improve my skills even further. Working at Britvic has also helped me improve my logical thinking and planning.

Our programme is laid out very clearly, in the first year we are college-based full time, which at times can be stressful but allows us to have the 4th year completely clear so we can focus on improving our real-world engineering knowledge. being at work 4 days a week in the 2nd and 3rd year provides a great balance of learning the theoretical knowledge at college and then putting it into practice at work.

The engineering apprenticeship is very well organised and structured, in the first year we are at college at full time, the college is focused around engineering apprentices and they have a good grasp of what the students require to succeed as most of the teachers have worked in the engineering sector before teaching. In the 2nd and 3rd year, we are on day release at the college carrying out an HNC qualification. in this time we spend time with numerous different sectors of the engineering team to ensure that we receive a well-rounded knowledge of the site. In the 4th year, we are given a line and also provided the help to ensure we have the best support possible.

My employer has been very supportive throughout my apprenticeship, I am confident that if I come to my employer with a problem they will support me and accommodate me where feasibly possible. for example, in the 2nd year, start times can be fairly flexible to ensure that it suits the apprentice and the team that they are working for.

These last 2 years have been tough due to Covid, however, the college has been fairly supportive throughout with doing online courses and ensuring that the college could open up as soon as possible, obviously, these last 2 years has been a struggle for everyone however I do feel that more could have been done although the teaching was still to a good level.

The qualifications that I gain from my training provider are vital to being able to work in this type of industry, for example, I gained skills such as learning how to mill and turn, as well as use common handheld tools competently. I also learned about how different motors work and how to fault find the problems on them which is very useful on our site.

In the first year of the apprenticeship scheme, we did an Outwood bounds course which all of the apprentices in my year from Britvic got involved in, this was great fun and involved us rock climbing, canoeing, and hiking. This was great fun and it was a good chance to meet other Britvic apprentices from all around the country in the same position as me. We also regularly play football at work and in past years their has been football leagues set up within the factory.

Yes

Britvic genuinely seem like a good company to work for, not only is the pay structure for apprentices one of the best I've seen but also they also have many other added benefits such as private health care and a shares plan. Not to mention because it is such a large company the room for progression is there.

Ensure that you're enthusiastic about engineering, provide examples of things you've done at home which show that you have an interest in engineering and also have a basic understanding of engineering principles. Also do some research before hand, look into the Britvic products and find as much as you can about the company beforehand.