CTO Services Business Apprentice Review

I am a CTO Services business apprentice. I complete 6 month rotations in all areas of the business. I work with many people all around the business as well as talking to suppliers. I am responsible for the weekly team brief and have been involved in many projects such as rationalisation and department branding. Most days I support the team that I am currently based in with various tasks that are taking place, such as the training team accreditation in March 2018.

I have learnt many skills such as how to behave in an office environment, how to write emails and take phone calls, communication skills and confidence. I have completed various EDF Energy training courses and attended a team building week away.

Overall I enjoy my programme. Most of the work is quite interesting however some of it is a little dry. the teams that I have worked with have all been nice and very supportive. The company culture suits me well and I think the focus on safety is excellent. It has met my expectations well.

I feel very valued by EDF Energy. They understand that we are the future of the business and support us in our career progression. There is some internal recognition but no external as yet. I felt very involved in all of my tasks and felt that I was playing a valuable role.

There was no formal induction just come IT courses. There is plenty of training provided. There is lots of support from my line manager and other apprentices and mentor. The program itself is not very well organised, no one seems to know any details about future rotations and work planning sometimes seems to be made up as we go along, but is good once everything is sorted.

HOW College are very organised. This is not helped by having multiple teachers off sick at once and the tutors and lead tutor never reply to emails. There is a very heavy work load and this is not well organised. I do however enjoy the content of the course.

There is plenty of support from EDF Energy. Regular catch-ups with line manager and mentor. The new HR system is hard to use and is not good right now, hard to book holiday etc. Everyone around me supports me and wants me to succeed.

As with any apprenticeship it is not very well payed but this is understandable considering they are paying for college fees too. I would be good if we were payed more considering we are working just as hard as everyone else around us.

There are a few voluntary activities outside of work however I have never been involved in any. There a few team building events which are good. There are no sports or leisure clubs that interest me.

Yes

Overall they are a good company to work for. There is plenty of support and I am positive about my career prospects with them.

The application process was relatively simple but was badly organised and communication during the process was poor. The assessment days were good and allowed me to demonstrate my skills. The onboarding process was slow and very badly organised. There are plenty of opportunities available to me. I would've like to have been told what my day to day tasks would be and would've been good to see the office and actual examples of work.