Cyber Security Apprentice Review

Cyber Security Apprentice - My daily tasks involve mostly learning more about cyber security and the business use for it. Where possible I use these skills to give input and try to add value to projects internally. Daily I will interact with the people near by me in my team for general conversation and also with people whom I'm working on a project with. Externally I have contact most of the time out to QA the apprenticeship sponsors, here I speak with my skills coach. Everyday I check my emails and tasks to do that day, I will grab a drink and then crack on.

As it stands currently I'm 9 months in and I do already have a Level 4 Qualification. (Employment of Cryptography) By the end of the apprenticeship not only will I have five different Level 4 Qualifications but I will also have the overall Level 4 Apprenticeship completion. Internally I go on lots of different training courses normally based around safety and concomitant working.

I enjoy my job and find it very interested and I am always happy to be learning more. In my team I am the odd one out being under the age of 30 with no one that close to my age. However, this is to be expected as an apprentice and I still manage to have a chat within the team and enjoy them. The company culture is outstanding! The amount of maturity and effort people put in to follow all rules and regulations is impeccable. Outside of the office on training and so on it's great fun to go and learn with like minded people. Also great to meet these people from different company's and learn from them too.

I am very well supported by my manager as well as others in my team, everyone is happy to help. As for internal recognition anything that I work on has my name put on it and that for me is great. We also have yearly appraisal's in which me and my manager will have that internal recognition conversation. In some of the current projects I am involved with I have been put as a lead and as a co-lead in others.

There is lots of training on offer here that I can use to further my skills. As well as this I was put in at the deep end and have had plenty of help from my colleges to get used to the company. There are lots of meetings that I have with peers and also with the other apprentice and young professionals.

The Tutor's on each of the courses are excellent and provide a great breath of knowledge. However the skill's coach that is our main point of contact to the apprenticeship company is fairly unhelpful and lacks much information or knowledge. Any problems that I have most of the time require either great persistence or escalation. I think that the human performance and communication skills they exercise is a real let down to the people who actually teach us as they are great at their job.

My manager is very supportive and helpful all of the time. HR are harder to get contact with as it is a very large company. As for a mentor we don't have anything official set up but my colleges around me provide a lot of great support when needed. We have a very clear cut structure and lots of tools in place to deal with an problems whether technical or grievance.

The salary is very high for an apprentice and pays well. Personally I don't have a mortgage or high rent but if you were living without your parents there could be a potential struggle there. Travel is all paid for separate from salary and travel to and from work is easy for me. Normal daily costs are all covered with ease and for me this does leave a very desirable chunk of disposable income. This tends to go towards saving and social activity as well as Cars and savings for a property.

The company does hold several events outside of working hours normally to raise money for charity. However on site there is a Gym, Tennis Court, Bowls Green and shooting range which we are allowed access to outside of work. We have a few schemes in place to give back to the local community too, with things like adopt-a-school we go and talk in school and other fairs. When I'm not working I mainly work on my project car and enjoy social meetings with friends as well as spending time generally relaxing with music.

Yes

I would recommend EDF Energy to a friend and have as it really has a great atmosphere. There are a lot of company benefit in comparison with other companies too. These include things such as: On site facilities, flexible working hours, competitive salary and lots of opportunity for progression. Also aside from that, working in the nuclear industry is vastly different from any other type of generation and adds some interesting aspects.

I would apply in good time and make sure you're well read up on EDF as a company. Including lots of information regarding nuclear power stations, how much power we produce, how many stations we have, what processes might we use to start a project and any other information you find such as past events. I would gain some experience in the area that you are planning to work in, in advance and make sure it's the right environment for you. As for assessment just come to interview days with a problem solving head on and show your passion and determination to strive. Also we have a very strong emphasis on safety so make sure to use that to your advantage.