Formulation Apprentice Review

Formulation Chemist, making new formulations in the lab working in teams to deliver new formulations into projects and into the market. Responsibilities include making the majority of batches for a project and doing relevant technical tests.

I have developed some new skills and gained confidence within the work I have been completing.

The team is great, the company culture overall is great with some problems, the work is varied and sometimes is great and interesting but others can be repetitive and mundane.

I know I do a lot of important work, but there is so much work to do each individual contribution is sometimes lost.

There isn't a great deal of organisation in terms of work, and the business needs at the time dictate this (which is not the way I believe it should be). I have tried to take control of my program to make it more structured but I don't believe this is the way it should be done.

The support from the university is poor, it is improving but with poor replies to emails from tutors and very little support available the level of support is poor from the training provider.

My manager and team support me when I am struggling with work issues or personal issues (generally). Sometimes there are exceptions where I cannot cope with some work and I have been told to "get on with it".

The salary makes it difficult to pay for a flat and a car, but for an apprenticeship with a sponsored degree I accept it is a good wage. When living with parents the salary was more than enough it just becomes much tighter when living away from home.

I don't know many things to do outside of work, there are the occasional company event or colleagues arranging to meet but this isn't often, and there are no opportunities advertised at work. There are discounted gyms but these are not in the city centre.

Yes

Overall they are a great company to work for with great people working there. They sponsor students through training while gaining on the job experience and paying a reasonable salary.