Civil Engineer Review

I am currently a Technician Engineer and day to day tasks involve setting out parts of the hospital I am currently working on. I will use an EDM and a dumpy to set out and to find the levels. I also have many resposibilities such as carrying out weekly tasks that make sure health and safety is maintained on site. I will attend weekly meetings which involve working out of work flow and managers meetings so that the tasks being carried out over the next week are communicated to the managers and engineers.

I am currently studying towards a BSc in Civil Engineering and always completing training throughout the Cadet Programme. I have also learnt many personal skills such as time keeping and punctuality. For example ariving and getting ready for work in time and also attending meetings and events. I also have to juggle many task and put these into priority order.

I very much enjoy my programme however the travelling is sometimes very difficult due to my Project being in Cardiff and me living in Bristol I have to travel a considerable amount of miles and time meaning leaving early in the morning and late at night during the week. I extremely enjoy the corporate events that we get invited to and get to attend. For example during the induction week of the Cadet programme you attend a formal business meal with large figure heads in the company which gives a good opportunity to network and get your name known. Also the Christmas meal is a very big event in London which is black tie with all expenses paid.

I do feel appreciated by my company (Laing O'Rourke) as I often get praise for things that I do well and complete before the deadline. However sometimes it is difficult to feel appreciated by your team as everyone is so busy that the praise is not felt until sometimes the end of the project which can be hard but it is very much worth it at the end.

The induction progress is very good and is very much enjoyed by all the Cadets as it is in London and they put on a lot of events and activities throughout London that really opens your eyes to the buiness world and is extremely exciting. The suport towards studying is okay as you get 3 days a year study leave, however I believe coming up to exam periods you need a bit more as the revision is very important and is sometimes very hard to complete during the working week especially if the exam is on a Friday which means you don't have a weekend in order to revise. Also if you have more than 3 exams then the 3 days study leave is not enough. The support meetings from mentors is planned however they often get missed due to me and my line manager/mentor being very busy this is not helpful. Task delegation is not great due to everyone being busy which means it is sometimes left up to me to find my own tasks.

The support is very good as the HR department are very caring and understand the youth of the Cadet programme. They always explain procedures and reasons for actions which make it easy to understand and I always feel as if I can talk to my manager if I have a problem.

The supoort is very good in terms of funding for University and training courses. Also funding for accomodation and travel is very good. Overall very good.

My salary package I believe is one of the highest out of most apprenticeships which I cannot complain about however like evryone I would always want more money. I do believe I fullfill a job role highr than my pay however. This offset against University fees I believe is a fair salary as long is it carries on increasing.

There are many opportunities outside of work such as corporate events and engineering events. These are very enjoyable as all expenses are paid for and most of them are black tie events which I really enjoy. You also get to meet many senior people in the business which is very good. Also we have a site football team which is good as on a wednesday after work some of us go and play football which is a good laugh and time to enjoy each others company outside of work.

Yes

They are a very big company with many opportunities to grow within. It is also clear that they like to promote internally due to the Cadets having the companies policies installed into them from day one. They sometimes could be more supportive but overall they are a good company to work for ad I would highly recmommend.

Do not be scared of the interview process as the managers that you meet are very nice and easy to get on with. The interviews are often just and informal chat which is very enjoyable. Make sure your CV is one page and concise and always back up statements with evidence.