Apprentice Engineer (Maintenance) Review

I am an Apprentice engineer at the Andover site. Day-to-day work consists of many different challenges to maintain the site. This includes machinery maintenance and repairs, adaptation and replacement of old equipment to improve efficiency.

Since I started here I have learnt and developed many skills. I have spent many hours practising MIG, TIG and arc welding. Before I started working at this company I had never touched a welding plant but now I am becoming more and more confident and skilled using a welding plant. Overall I feel all the skills that I have learnt and developed here so far are vital to me becoming a competent engineer in the not to far future.

I enjoy the programme a lot as mentioned above I am learning lots of new skills and developing my existing ones which is always a very rewarding process as your confidence and competence increases. This programme is very good as it teaches you the hands on skills and the knowledge needed for your development.

Premier Foods is a brilliant company to work for. You feel as though you have become a part of the team. I feel valued because all of the people you work with treat you with respect. Not only is their physical side of feeling valued with your colleagues, but you are also given benefits and a very competitive salary which makes you feel wanted and valued.

The programme is very well organised and structured. City and Guilds offer the qualification I take through Eastleigh College. I go to college weekly to learn which helps me achieve my qualification and also helps me become more competent with physical activities and more knowledgeable on all things engineering. I also have an assessor that comes in once a month to give me question sheets that need to be answered to obtain the city and guilds qualification.

Eastleigh College copious amounts of support. There is never a stupid question, there is always someone to talk to for advice or help and there is always time and patience from the college.

Premier Foods also provide a lot of support. Much like Eastleigh College there is always someone to talk to, and everyone here is really helpful and patient with me to learn. Premier Foods also give me plenty of time to complete my City and Guilds questions also offer support if I need help understanding any of the questions.

I was honestly very impressed with the salary. When I was in the interview stage of applying to work here I was worried as where I live is a considerable distance away from work and whether I could afford to travel everyday. When I queried about the salary I was very surprised by how much they pay all of their workers especially apprentices. They can get away with £3.50 odd an hour but The company pay nearly triple that for apprentices and it continues to rise as each year goes on until you are fully qualified.

The company do not really provide any activities or events outside of work. I know they do an annual charity walk up Brecon beacons and the christmas meal. Apart from that the company doesn't do anything else.

Yes

Because it is great place to work. You feel valued, learn a lot about engineering, and get paid very well. Even if they were not applying for an engineering role but an administrative role I feel the company is great to work for as they give you all the support you need to complete your work activities and everyone is a joy to work with.

If you are applying to work at Premier Foods the advice I would give is to work hard and be yourself. The company really feels like a big team and everyone is willing to accept you into it.