Electrical Engineering Apprentice Review

I work on placements at each of the major departments at the site, spending 3 to 4 months with each department. In this time I learn what their responsibility is within the company, how the department is run and how the running of the department differs when compared to other departments. There's always plenty of work to do within each department, and the tasks set always vary in content, difficulty and length.

Between internal HSQE training courses and external training at Bournemouth and Poole College I have learnt a huge amount, particularly to do with electronics and health and safety regulations within the workplace. Whilst working within Siemens I've also learnt a lot about working procedures, particularly the building and management of spreadsheets.

Since I started I've found the programme very engaging. No two days are the same, and the company culture and the teams that I've been a part of whilst on my placements around the site have been welcoming and easy to work with. All the work is interesting and support it always available if it gets especially difficult.

The work I do benefits the company as its related to actual jobs and orders, rather than just learning tasks set by a superior. I attend team meetings regularly and have a say in projects that I'm involved in, and my opinion is respecting and listened to by my colleagues.

The structure and organization of my programme was slightly lacking for a while after I first started work, but it has steadily improved over time and now the structure and organisation of it is pretty clear, and I'm aware of what direction I'm going and where the programme is going too.

The support I received from my training provider (Bournemouth and Poole College) was also lacking to begin with. But again, as time has progressed the support I have received has been more in depth and more frequent. There is still room for improvement though, as the accessibility of the support is currently not great.

I receive a good amount of support from my employer. My manager is very involved in the apprenticeship scheme throughout the company, not just on the Poole site, and he makes sure we're engaging with everything we're doing. Further support is also easily accessible, as everyone within the Training School is easy to contact.

My salary is higher than those paid by other companies offering a similar programme to mine. My living costs, travel costs, daily costs and social costs are all covered by the salary. I've already begun to pay into a pension fund, and each payment I make into it is matched by Siemens.

There are numerous company events to take part in, ranging from fantasy football leagues to team meals out. The location of the site is within the town of Poole, so there are plenty of opportunities and facilities in the surrounding area that can be used for activities outside of work, such as leisure facilities and shopping centres.

Yes

The salary Siemens pays for a three to four year higher apprenticeship is very competitive, and the benefits and pension schemes they offer are very good. I've also learnt so much about a variety of different things in a relatively short amount of time. The company culture is also very positive and promotes a innovative and hard working attitude.

Siemens uses strength based interview techniques so should a candidate make it to the interview stage of the employment process, they must spend some time identifying their strengths and weaknesses and how they can be utilized and improved respectively, and also how they can be implemented and used by the company.