Apprentice Field Technician Review

My role as a Virgin Media Apprentice Field Technician was to diagnose and resolve faults in customer TV, phone and Broadband as well as resolve disputes regarding Virgin Media customer relations. Day to day I would travel from job to job at residential house holds using routing via PDA. I would interact with the customer to identify the issues a customer is experiencing. Perform diagnosis to identify the reported fault and provide a solution to meet customer expectations. My job role would require time management, stock management, driving, managing customers, and applying technical knowledge.

During my years apprenticeship I worked towards a level 3 SVQ in telecommunication. To achieve this certification I had to complete modules such as health and safety, customer care by providing evidence of my applied knowledge in a practical situation. I received training in health and safety, how to effective diagnose CATV and telephone cable faults, training in customer care and road & sign safety.

The 1 year apprenticeship programme for thorough and mostly well planned out. Training was provided at the right times and was relevant to what I done in my day to day job. The company made an impression that they cared for the apprentices and provided all the tools and training to get started. As apprentices we had a visit from the CEO of the company which really highlights how much they pushed for us. I really enjoyed the apprenticeship. It was fast fun and dynamic - unfortunately this did not portray the same after the apprenticeship which was a shame.

In the first year of the apprenticeship I felt extremely valued. I had spent 16 weeks shadowing a fully experienced technician completing a training diary which ensured my tutor and I were both comfortable that I was competent in each skill area. My apprenticeship manager was extremely enthusiastic about the programme and really appreciated the effort we put into the apprenticeship.

The programme structure was one of its strengths as it was well laid out and job specific. The induction was through and friendly and made me feel valued and welcome. The training was always sufficient and adapted to suit an apprentice. Studying for modules was fairly straight forward as the modules were never challenging but we did however receive plenty time to complete each module when we attended study days every Wednesday where we received support from our manager. My tutor was very friendly and keen to get me engaged - I do not believe this was consistent with our apprentices however when they vented there frustration to our apprentice manager this was resolved quickly.

Training was provided internally by Virgin Media. My on the job tutor full an experience senior engineer who was able to make time in the day to show me how to perform each task effectively. We would often work and a team and he would regularly give me feedback on my progress. At the start of the process I felt it was somewhat informal and I feel the tutor could have been briefed better on what exactly was required as his role as tutor. After a few weeks we worked out how best to work and learn in correlation. I enjoyed the tutor system very much and would recommend on the job tutoring and shadowing as an the best development method for apprenticeships.

Basing the support structure entirely on the 1 year apprenticeship I would say the support received as an apprentice at Virgin Media was excellent. There were several different streams to connect with i.e Manager, coach, tutor, line manager. I felt all of these support stream were great. I feel obliged to highlight however that after the 1 year apprenticeship this support system ends. There is no support and you are left to fend for yourself. In my personal situation and as confirmed by many others in my apprenticeship intake the management hierarchy out width the apprenticeship programme was terrible. They did not support apprentices and did not take into account that an apprentice with little life experience will need to additional support. I believe the management (Access Field Management) did not support the apprenticeship system and did not care whether it succeeded or failed.

Salary during the apprenticeship was very good for those just leaving school. Travel was not an expense as a provided work van was necessary. The salary was was dramatically increased on completion of the apprenticeship which was great however afterwards it would be clear such wage increased would be unachievable in this career.

Virgin media always tried to create opportunities outside of work such as social nights out however there was little opportunity for charity events or voluntary initiatives.

No

I absolutely cannot fault the apprenticeship. The training received and investment made in apprentices what great however after the year long apprenticeship ends the reality is that you are working for a business trying to make a profit by cutting resources and overworking in staff. The management in the Glasgow branch time and time again found ways to punish there employees through use of written warning often relating to questionable health and safety auditing. This was a way to get there staff in a situation where they could not earn commission which inherently provided more profit for themselves. This may be common practice in businesses however having followed a great apprenticeship the end result was rather heart breaking.

The interview process was fairly straight forward with interviews and group sessions as well as having to perform a presentation. Be fun presentable and knowledgeable. However, I would advise not to work for Virgin Media.