Civil Engineering Degree Apprentice Review

Working on projects for a large utilities company in a team of both experienced engineers and graduates. Daily tasks might include: data analytics, looking at engineering drawings and lots of excel work! Being in the early years of my apprenticeship I work closely with my team to help me learn and progress.

I have learnt how to use lots of programmes such as AutoCAD and arcGIS that I had never used prior to my apprenticeship. I have also improved my skills in excel whilst being here and now use it daily.

In the beginning it is tricky to find the balance between work, university and your personal life. Doing an apprenticeship was such a big change from anything I had done before but now that I have adjusted and found balance I am enjoying it.

My programme seems well organised, one of the biggest benefits of doing my apprenticeship with a large firm is that they already have an apprenticeship scheme in place and people have been through and graduated it. This means they understand what I need from them in terms of training and support as well as my university commitments. However there doesn't seem to be a structured programme of what I will/should learn through work, this seems more dependent on projects.

My employer is very supportive, they understand my university commitments well and are on hand to provide any additional support I may need with this. I have always felt like there is someone I can ask for help no matter the question.

With my training provide I attend 1 day a week of in person lectures and tutorials. These lectures are run well and the lecturers are helpful when answering any questions. They also run support sessions if you need any extra help. My manager and I have quarterly meeting with the university to discuss my progress and any issues we may be having with the university which helps to keep things running smoothly.

My learning through university helps to give me a more diverse range of knowledge and teaches me more technical things than what I am currently doing/learning at work. This helps to give me a greater idea about how the projects I am working on will progress and the work that will be involved in them. It also helps me to better understand what different sectors and job roles do.

There are lots of extra curricular activities to get involved in, we have a huge list of sports clubs that are subsidised by the company for employees to get involved in. We even have a sports day and ball in the summer!

Yes

It is a great place to work, with so many different sectors and job roles to get involved in across the world. There is so much support available within the company for whatever your interests or ambitions are and they are so many great opportunities available no matter where you are in your career.

Be brave and give it a go, you never know where it could lead you! The application process can be time consuming and tricky to balance with everything else going on in your life but it is definitely worth it. It may take time for you to hear back about how you did and an interview date but don't be put off by this or think you have been rejected. I applied in late February and had my interview June/July but it was worth the wait!