Packaging Development Apprentice (Mechanical Engineering) Review

As an Apprentice Mechanical Engineer in Unilever's Packaging department, daily tasks include, reviewing technical drawings, attending team meetings, reviewing protocols, generating results templates, programming measurement machines and a wide range of other jobs. As an apprentice you will still be given areas of work to lead on multiple projects meaning you need to manage your own work load and prioritise work to meet deadlines.

Yes, while at Unilever I have developed my understanding of production lines and developed a greater understanding of the trialling requirement for a product before it can be launched in a Unilever factory. This is just one area of many I have had the opportunity to develop.

As I have developed as an Apprentice and become more aware of the variety of different roles and skills around me, I have been able to direct my development in an area that I enjoy. Therefore I at least enjoy one aspect of my work, however throughout my apprenticeship I have found many different roles enjoyable.

As an apprentice I feel as though Unilever values my development so that I can become a fully functional member of the team. However as with all companies sometimes you just have to do roles that do not develop you in the area you would like and consequently feel less valued.

The overall structure from a work point of view is very good, Apprentices have monthly meetings with Line Managers and 6 monthly work target reviews to ensure your goals are still relevant.

The University of Hull is my training provider and I feel as though their courses are structured towards full time students and not Part time students. However there has been a mix of good and bad support, from some very attentive lecturers to other courses where the lecturer has had no contact with students but has just provided a course booklet to explain the module.

Unilever is generally very good at giving Employees support where needed. For Example if you are struggling with university deadlines they will generally offer support and sometimes extra time to complete university work. They will also give apprentices Study Leave days before an exam.

As I am living at home I have been able to sustain all of my living and commuting costs while still going out and doing all of my hobbies, however if I had moved out I think that this would have been a struggle.

Within Unilever there is a strong social culture where we like to got out and have a good time as a team, so there are many opportunities outside of work. Unilever will also support you if you volunteer at a charity.

Yes

Generally it is a good company who want to develop their young people to help them progress though their career. Also they will support you as an apprentice where possible.

Unilever is very interested in finding the right person who will fit in with the team so my advice would be to go into an interview and be yourself and show them the kind of person that you are, as they also want to make sure that the job is right for you.