Technician Review

The apprenticeship is training us up to become technicians in either mechanical, electrical or control and instrumentation roles to work on our respective power stations situated around the country. It consists of two years spent living and working with the other apprentices down on HMS Collingwood and Sultan in Portsmouth. The time spent here is to work towards achieving a BTEC level 3 and NVQ. During the first year of this, we work equally in each trade until we discuss with our stations what discipline we would like to take for the second year. The last two years are spent working as an apprentice on our power station.

I have developed new skills that I will find useful when working on station in each role (mechanical, electrical and C&I) such as bench fitting, wiring, pipe bending and maintaining mechanical devices. EDF also pay to take us to different countries on life skills trips which aim to give us the skills to get around, budget, and become successful people. The apprenticeship not only trains us to become effective technicians, but to also become well-rounded people.

I enjoy the work that we carry out down in Portsmouth and am looking forward to working on station. The teams within eDF are extremely accommodating and eager to help you learn; there is also a high emphasis on a healthy, inclusive company culture. The apprenticeship itself definitely exceeded my initial expectations.

I feel valued as an apprentice as everyone is always readily available to listen to you if you have an issue, and are very helpful. As apprentices we are told that we are the future of the company, and basically that we are valuable to eDF and the future of its generation. Even down in Portsmouth we are kept in the loop with things going on on station, we have apprentice coordinators that come down and take us on a company meal to see how we are doing, resolve any issues, and just to make sure that we are doing well.

The programme has been fully explained to us from day one and runs smoothly. We do each unit for a certain number of days/weeks at a time in order to get all of the work for the BTEC and NVQ done within working hours; instructors are always there to help if you have any issues/questions about the work.

If we have any problems with what we are doing, there is always someone that you can talk to about it. Whether that's talking to a Babcock (our training provider) employee or our coordinator (eDF employee), both work together to resolve any issues or put in place something to support you at work (or in our living situation).

Our apprentice coordinators are our main eDF contact. They are there to help support us through our apprenticeship; for example, when I first moved down to Portsmouth, my coordinator came down to visit us and take us out for a meal to ensure that we had settled down well and were dealing with the workload. He also made sure that we were doing okay with the other apprentices and instructors.

EDF pay for our three meals a day, every day of the week - we eat in the navy mess halls. Our accommodation and transport costs are also covered for us. This means that unless we have any other commitments at home, we don't have much to pay for out of our own salaries. EDF also cover our travel to and from home when we are sent home every four weeks or so for an extended long weekend (so we can see our families). We live on HMS Collingwood and are not allowed our own vehicles as it would take up too much room (there are approx. 100 apprentices living there at a time) so we have to pay for taxis to places if we want to, however there are also buses, trains and a ferry. The transport costs are very low in comparison to what it would be.

There are always events going on that are put on by our training provider, and in and around Portsmouth. We were even allowed to join the navy's football league with our own team. We are actively encouraged by our company to get out of our rooms and do something in our free time so that we make the most of our time down here. There are roles that apprentices can take on, such as being a social rep, meaning that they work with our company to organize trips. Recent ones are visiting London and Ascot.

Yes

I think that this apprenticeship is a great opportunity to learn how to live independently while also learning a trade within a company with a good reputation that will set you up for life. You will struggle to come across another apprenticeship that offers as much as this one does.

If you get this apprenticeship, take every opportunity you are offered. If you get the chance to go on trips, don't turn them down; if you get the chance to try something different, give it a go!