Joining Technician Review

I handle quality control and assurance in Body in White. My team manage a team of inspectors to make sure cars are built to a set standard. I also have to have skills in different joining techniques such as rivets, laser welds and spot welding. Using the Bosch system and also the Tucker robots to help maintenence as well

I have developed a number of skills and learnt new ones. Some of the skills I've learnt are robots skills, such as spindle control, calibration of robot pendant screens and use of adjustment drives. Skills which i have develpoed are use of IT, inspection skills and attention to detail skills, and process within the work to make workign easier and simpler

The experience was very staggered and jaggered. Some parts of the program were okay, however, the serious lack of communication within the business and the college, and the lack of any clear direction from both business and college made the transition between BTEC and on site very poor. Also when graduating, the business didnt handle any apprentice very well and wants us to change departments, which led to me looking to seek oppurtunities elsewhere

It was very poorly organised. Initially it was okay, but then it got awfully messy very quickly. BTEC Dragged on for far too long, when it could have been completed in less than 12 months at a push. Some of the units that I carried out weren't relevant to the job role that I do

The support from the employer is mixed. Some colleagues do offer some significant help and support during work, but some colleagues do not. Teh employer in general is quite supportive in some areas, but lack and knowledge or any real enthusiasm to allwo me to push and become better. For example, I wanted help towards doing my HNC/HND and they havent responded to me in a couple of months

My ITM was very supportive and pushed me and assisted me whenever possible. This allowed me to learn more and also showcase what I knew to them. Since they were also learning from me, their support was limited, however, their experience within the field was extremely helpful because they were able to word things better or explain things in a clearer way than I had. The training provider itself were okay in terms of support, but my ITM supported me a lot more than the training provider did

My qualifications allow me to learn and have a baseline for my job role. They also allowed me to have more knowledge about certain things such as robot control and inspection, things which I used in my job role However, I do feel theres still more to do in order to better myself as an engineer which is why I am pushing for my HNC/HND qualifications

the company has an ELS program which gives an allowance to put towards learnign something such as doign the CBT, DAS, Sports, education etc. I havent utilised this yet but i shall be doing since this is an incentaive to learn more and i want to learn and be able to experience new things

Yes

For money and wages alone, and the huge range of perks, yes it is worth recommending. However, it is also amongst the worst company I have worked for in terms of micro managing, manager attitude and sheer rudeness and treatment of employers. The treatment of employees and the superior attitude of managers means there is very little to show for good colleagues

Just be wary that the shifts and treatment of colleagues can be harsh and unfair Managers can look down on you and the Union isn's really the best. The money is good and the perks are very good and if you keep your head down you might enjoy it, but theres better jobs out there