Climatic Test Technician Review

I think the apprenticeship was great in that it was well paying, the workload was extremely achievable (if you were happy to put in the work). The tutors at the college were great and very helpful. I was messed about when it came to completing my NVQ. I started much later than the rest of my year, and was passed around by supervisors before landing with someone who was genuinely incredibly helpful. It is a great foot in the door, but at the same time, I know of multiple people who have been an absolute dead weight and will not get everything out of it that they could.

I have learnt a plethora of new skills, mostly during the college aspect of the apprenticeship. However, I have learnt a lot of things working in the industry that I never anticipated that I would. These are things as basic as building really solid working relationships and time management, to refrigerant plants and similar.

I did enjoy it in parts. There were absolutely parts of the the apprenticeship that were not so enjoyable . These were around the time when I was getting passed to different supervisors, and worrying about not getting the most important aspect of the apprenticeship done in a timely manner, and to a good enough standard that I wold be happy with it.

Room for improvement. Given that this is one of the most reputable apprenticeships in the country, there were aspects of it that were a shambles. Especially with the final and most important section, there was very little structure, organisation or communication around it. For the most part I think it has been okay. Especially considering my apprenticeship was also during Covid, I do think that was handled well.

I received an adequate amount of support. However, I found that I always had to ask for it. Also, I have been through 4 managers, none of which were knowledgeable about what I required or how best to support me. However, I found when I asked for time to work certain things, I was given in.

While in college I received a lot of support from the training provider. The tutors were great, and often helped me out. I encountered an issue when doing my NVQ, I believe the supervisor in this situation was related to the college, and after having 3 supervisors who were unhelpful, and did no work and did not support me, my last one was great.

I feel like the training through the college helped give me a good overall view of a lot of different engineering aspects. However, there was a large focus on original versions of the technology on cars, rather than looking at the current technology used in cars, which made a lot of training feel outdated.

There are social groups and some networking events, I believe. I have never gone to them, and I have not necessarily found it easy to find out how to get involved in them all. Some are quite simple, the early careers team often has different social events for those who are in the apprenticeship.

Yes

Because it is a great jumping off point for many other things. The pay during the apprenticeship is very good, and the job security is pretty good. And the end job is ultimately why people do the apprenticeship. The company has so many departments that there is something for everyone.

It is important to have your own brain, and not just regurgitate things that have been said to you. Hobbies are important, and especially hobbies that relate to the aspect that you are trying to get into, whether it is technical skills or critical thinking, you should be able to spin a hobby into a reason why they should hire you.