Substation craft apprentice Review

My role for the apprenticeship involves maintaining switchgear for the HV transmission network in the UK and also ensuring safety is maintained at all times inline with the law and national grids policies

I've learnt a variety of skills as well as built on existing such as low voltage wiring, using hand tools and working down to fine tolerances and also an idea of what it is like to strip equipment down and put it all back together in the correct order

I enjoy it from the point of view that I find it interesting and I see how most of the training links to my job role throughout the apprenticeship and also I enjoy learning about the Heath and safety side of things as this is very transferable

I feel reasonably valued, concerns I raise are generally dealt with efficiently however there are some managers that make you feel inferior to them and try to make themselves seem better than you which is a shame as it is a minority that act this way however it does impact how valued you feel.

The course is very well structured in the respect that we get our programme for the year ahead not just the next few months, we know the dates of all our reviews and communication is kept good throughout our time. Organisation can appear to be messy at times however when the time comes it is dealt with.

We get a lot of support provided we put the effort in and are trying. Often trainers will be happy to stay behind and help with work and during training time we can also raise any concerns with any of the trainers either by feedback forms or just having a convocation with them

Support we get depends on what manager you're trying to get support from, some managers will bend over backwards to get you the support you need however others seem to think it is up to us to support ourselves and will not support you until it is too late unfortunately

Excellent! My salary which is above average is my money as all my costs for traveling to training sites, traveling to and from site, taxis, trains, food are all met by the company in their expense policies which is fantastic as its enabled me to apply for a mortgage at just 18 which I am very happy with.

We have all been registered with the IET and they do send out information regarding workshops and events however we spend most of our time at their training centre in Eakring so this makes it difficult to attend any of these

Yes

Because despite the bad points it is a fantastic opportunity with a clear career progression path with excellent salary and benefits which everyone can sign up to and enjoy no matter what position you are within the company.

Be confident, just because you don't think you can get in with a big company doesn't mean you can't! National grid take on a variety of people from a range of backgrounds, what's the worst that can happen?