Engineering Degree Apprentice Review

My role in the company is as an engineering degree apprentice. Since I am a first year I have not yet started to rotate in roles round the company and instead spend each day either doing university work, which is during a day release on Tuesdays, or working on the project that we were set by the company to complete. This means I spend most days programming, looking at electronics labs and completing electronic simulations

I have learnt many new skills, especially within electronics since I have never done electronics before the apprenticeship. Despite this I have used breadboards, oscilloscopes, soldered and learnt much about the basics theory of electronics. Developing programming skills has been really rewarding, since I have gotten to use and learn brand new languages from scratch, developing many interesting programs I couldn't have made at the start of the year. In this apprenticeship I have also developed many soft skills, such as confidence and organisation, since I have interacted with many lovely and interesting people and helped take part in many events in my time here

I really enjoy the apprenticeship program. I have learnt a lot and continuously look forward to what I will learn in upper years as I progress through the apprenticeship and get to try out many different roles. I love the problem solving and programming that comes with the apprenticeship since I get to continuously learn so many interesting things. To start with it was a bit overwhelming leaving school and plunging into a job with many new people, and I struggled to get into the swing of things, but everyone was really nice and accommodating so it was quickly picked up. The electronics is not my favorite part of the course, especially using breadboards, but it is still interesting to learn and I've been slowly becoming more interested in designing and making circuits

The program is quite well organized, us apprentices are given a clear task to perform and given a lot of freedom with how we perform it. We have a day release to college which is always on the same day, giving it a good structure where we know where to be on which day. The organization was hard to get used to at first, since we are pretty much left to our own devices and it is so different from school, but after a few weeks of work here you easily get used to how to organise your time and get the most out of each day

My employer is very supportive, there are many different outreaches available to us if we are struggling with anything. The upper year apprentices and everyone around are happy to help out if there are any problems, with university work, with project work and even if you personally have a problem. The managers are around and happy to hear from you if you're really struggling, so there is always somebody who will help you out and the atmosphere is very welcoming

The lecturers are really supportive, willing to stay after class to help if there are any issues. My lecturer has done individual sessions with me on breadboards and how to wire them, since I had needed extra help. The support could be better, sometimes communication isn't ideal because you might find yourself waiting days for a reply, and marks don't get given to you for a good while after completing an exam in certain modules. However, in person the lecturers are lovely and will be willing to help if you are having any problems, provided you ask and are willing to accept the help. I think that the training would be received better if there was more hands on work in the electronics, because with hours of theory it becomes difficult to take in all of the information

The degree that I am working towards definitely helps with the basic understanding of what goes on on site, since it is specifically made to help in our company day to day work. Most of what is learnt at university can come up in conversation around site, and it does help you to understand why an electronic component works in a certain way and the basics of programming.

Yes, there are many different activities that are available to employees around site, I have been to several work socials with graduates in the company are met many different people at these events. There are also many school career events that can be completed which help to both meet more people around the company and work on different skills

Yes

The company is very welcoming and the atmosphere is very friendly, with support given frequently. Throughout the program you get to develop many skills, make friends and solve many different problems with the skills that you have learnt, which is especially satisfying. The structure is very good and is definitely a program that I would recommend

My biggest piece of advice is to just be yourself. The employer is looking for people who are passionate about engineering and will fit in well with the team, so that the team members can gel with each other and the company. Doing some activities outside of school/work which show your interests and hobbies can be beneficial as well, so make sure to talk honestly about what you love doing in your spare time and be yourself.