Electrical Technician Review

The apprenticeship job role is as a electrical technician. This involves many tasks but the main task is to produce products that clients of the company have ordered. This includes different tasks such as soldering, wiring and using different tools depending on the task. I also attend college once a week to gain different qualifications along side the work experience and skill from work.

I am working towards to engineering qualifications at college where I attend once a week. I have completed a corporate training course and have completed many different internal training courses about health and safety, skills courses and also general training ones. I have also learned new skills in terms of the practical side of the job. I have learned skills such as crimping, soldering, wiring, using connectors and many other skills which I didn't previously have.

I really enjoy the apprenticeship program that I am on. The type of work that I am doing is enjoyable and interesting whilst still providing a challenge. The team I work in is very helpful and patient whilst also being fun to be around and make coming to work enjoyable. The program has exceeded my expectations as I enjoy all aspects of it and it also is giving me new experiences.

I feel very valued by my manager and line manager because they always check to see how I am getting on with each task and college work. They are always interested and keen to hear about how college is going and if there is any other support that they can give me on college or if there is more support needed at work. They are very keen to get all staff involved in tasks and projects, I am now involved and part of an innovation team which aims to create a new product the company can manufacture and sell to clients.

The program is organised and structured well, the inductions I was given were very clear and helpful for the job. The training I have received has also been very good, all the training has been clear and useful which has made it much easier to get involved and help on tasks much quicker as I have received proper training. The support I receive is also very good and there are multiple people available to talk to about any issues I have so that everything can be sorted out. I am also given plenty of time to study and work on any college stuff I have. I am able to talk to my line manager if there is anything I need help with or if I need less work so I can focus on college. There are also regular meetings with line managers, HR heads and other staff about my progress and where things can be improved by both me and them.

My training provider is the college and I receive lots of support from the tutors there but they also try get it so I have to work out the solution as well. They're always able to help with any of the issues I have had whether it was with the practical tasks such as which cutter to use, speed of the drill feed or if it was theory with the questions that I have to answer.

There is lots of support available from lots of different people. The main support comes from my manager and line manager as they are who I see the most and the first point of contact. Then there is also HR who are very supportive and have helped sort out any issues I have had that my line manager couldn't. The 2 mentors have been very helpful in showing me how to correctly do different tasks and also have made it easy to get used too coming to work along with meeting many other team members.

The base salary is quite good but there is opportunity to get a pay rise twice a year which is also very good. The base salary is enough to cover all the costs that I have such as travel costs, daily costs and living costs. My social costs vary each month but the base salary is able to cover them which is good and very helpful as it allows me to start slowly saving although the opportunity for 2 pay rises will make everything a lot easier and allow saving to be easier.

There are different events/clubs outside of work that employees can be involved with such as walking clubs, these clubs help employees to get out and do things outside of work. The company also has activities such as go karting which is a fun way for the employees to relax and not feel as stressed.

Yes

Costain is a good company to work for as there are many opportunities available as it is a large company which is involved in many different sectors. Being in lots of different sectors means that there is a chances to explore each sector and see which one you enjoy most. They have a good pay scheme as well so allows for more growth and you feel you aren't being used just fro cheap work because they actually want you to succeed. Through the apprenticeship so many new skills are learnt which can be applied in work and outside of work as well.

With the application process my advice would be make sure your CV stands out because then it already draws attention to you instead of just blending in with the rest of the applicants. With the interview my advice would be to make it into a conversation not just sitting answering direct questions. I found this very helpful as it takes a lot of pressure off and helps to relax you, having a conversation with them as well will make their experience better as well and makes it more memorable.