Advanced Apprentice in Manufacturing Engineering Review

I am currently on a rotation around the factory, this involves a shorter shift than the operatives but doing the same work. For instance, at the minute I am in Service where the preparation work is done for the blades, I am becoming very proficient and thoroughly enjoying it in the segment.

I have done a lot of on the job training but nothing too specialised or transferable. That is the main drawback of working within a niche market, such as building wind turbine blades, although I am working with composites which is quite literally the future of material science.

I am enjoying the teamwork that is involved as I am meeting new people and integrating well into the teams, the only downside is when moving to a different segment as you get comfortable in the area you're in and then have to move and meet people you wouldn't have met otherwise.

Siemens has a rewards programme that you are submitted to and can receive some form of rewards, monetary or other, but also the team leads and ops are very appreciative of my work and I am valued as a fellow op rather than just an apprentice.

There have been times throughout the programme where it has gone a bit quiet but the required assistance is given in the end, as you'd expect from a company of this size. We have being assigned a mentor and a NVQ assessor with 2 years left on the apprenticeship.

As mentioned above, we have being assigned a mentor. These are to help us get to where we want to be within the business, not just where the programme wants us to be. We all have different expectations from this and the mentor is there to help cater it to us and give us advice on getting there.

Any questions we have can be asked and we are confident that we will get a reply, we also have quarterly reviews where we can raise any concerns with the programme specifically and these are put to rest.

I have enough to get buy and anytime that I scrape is due to large outlay at the beginning of the month rather than low salary. The only problem is the 8 hour shifts and the clarity on whether shift pay can be offered whilst working them.

I have done a few company events, mainly open events involving schools and colleges to answer questions they have about the company and how to get a foot in the door, all of which I feel gives me a bit more experience socially.

Yes

They are a massive, multinational company with fingers in many pies, going into one sector doesn't stop you from progressing into others where your interests lay.

Don't shy away from putting extra work in and showing it, they are looking for out of the box thinkers and people with plenty of room to grow. Most of all, never fall behind the crowd, always be the one rallying it.