Electrical ICA Apprentice Review

My current role is to assist a trained technician to fix equipment or machinery around site. Often I will be completing the task while someone watches me, they will give advice and knowledge if I need it. I also work towards my NVQ level 3, which requires me to complete job write ups.

I have learnt a lot of new skills, I had very little knowledge coming into this industry and I have now got a good understanding of electrical theory. (for example how pumps work and how motors work). I have learnt a lot of new coding skills for ICA work. My fault finding skills have improved a lot.

I do enjoy the actual work. I really enjoy being on site and completing the tasks day to day. However, the academic side has been a total let down, I was promised a HNC if I performed well at college, to which I got a Distinction star. And they have not given me the opportunity to do the HNC. The first year at college did not teach me any relevant skills.

I do enjoy the actual work, luckily I have a mentor which actually wants to help me, otherwise I would have been totally on my own. As previously stated the academic side has been a total let down, I was promised a HNC if I performed well at college, to which I got a Distinction star. And they have not given me the opportunity to do the HNC. The first year at college did not teach me any relevant skills, so it was a bit of a waste of time.

I receive good support from my mentor on site and my (activate) assessor for my NVQ writeups. They both listen and try to do their best for me which I appreciate. I have recently been having meetings with the apprentice manager, however he is just filling out a form and does not get my issues sorted. (such as correct PPE and the HNC issues).

I receive very good support from my assessor from activate but before I was doing the NVQ I had little support from the training provider. The college (Guildford college) was run very poorly, nobody knew what was going on most of the time and they made the whole experience very stressful. I have given a 7/10 purely because of my assessor, with him in the equation I would have given a 2 or 3.

The BTEC completed at college is very little help to me when performing my role, everything was irrelevant. Even when we (the group of Thames Water apprentices) brought this up we were told that we are doing what Thames wants us to do. We had very little relevant practical experience at college, which I think needs to be changed. The NVQ is relevant because it is just writing up jobs I have completed, so it builds my experience (and understanding because I have to explain why i have done certain on the report).

Yeah there probably is but nothing which is really worth doing. We are often offered to do random stuff but its usually up in London which is far from where I live. It would be nice if the apprentices had an organised event so that we could see each other and discuss how things are going. I have put a 5 because there are events, I just don't want to do them because they don't interest me.

No

I think they have issues as a company, I do enjoy the actual work. I really enjoy being on site and completing the tasks day to day. However, the academic side has been a total let down, I was promised a HNC if I performed well at college, to which I got a Distinction star. And they have not given me the opportunity to do the HNC. The first year at college did not teach me any relevant skills. The apprentice scheme is not as good as it seems from the outside, the money looks good for an apprentice but the pay as a qualified technician isn't brilliant. So my advice is look at the salary of the position you are going to apply for after the scheme ends. Also, just because you are the apprentice at one site, does not mean you will get a job there after 4 years.

The application process is fairly long, you have to go to day long assessment days which can be tiring. I would consider looking at all options before applying to Thames Water. In some aspects it is a good company to work for, most people are friendly and there is lots of skills to learn. However some management schemes make it hard to progress your career (cutting apprentice HNC)