Rating
- 1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
- 2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
- 3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
- 4. How valued do you feel by Siemens?
- 5. How well organised/structured is your programme?
- 6a. How much support do you receive from your training provider?
- 6b. How much support do you receive from your employer?
- 7. How well does your salary/package meet your costs?
- 8. Are there many opportunities outside of work?
- 9. Would you recommend Siemens to a friend?
- 9b. Why?
- 10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Siemens?
I am a electrical engineering apprentice. I start the day with a meeting with shop floor, office and management members and the meeting involves daily output, heath and safety issues with suppliers and issues in the factory. they I go into my placement which is in repair at the minute and I repair PCBs from the line, I also have project that are going on at the same time. I have meetings for the project most days. One of the projects is call the junior factory and it is a factory within a factory and it is ran by grads and apprentices. Will all have rolls in there so my rolls is head of Quality and head of business improvement. and very 6-12 months we switch it up and change rolls but interviewing the members who apply for the roll, in the next month or 2 I will be stepping down from head of B.I. and one of the year 1 apprentices will take over.
I am in my second year and about to finish my level 3 in electrical and electronic engineering and then might be going on to a HNC which is a level 4. work in the junior factory has helped with my working in a team skills and my confidence because I have come straight from school and I am dyslexic, so it has been hard from he but Siemens has been very helpful. I have also do my PEO2 which is a level 2, in work I have do my IPC standards training and soldiering level 1 and 2. I have done workshop training so I can use most of the tools in the workshop at Siemens.
I was put with my managers Team which is test engineering and they have been very helpful and there are two grads which have helped a lot with my Level 3 because they have gone through it before. Siemens is a big company and I thought that the apprenticeship would not be at the top of there list but it is when have meetings with top managers to put forward our problems and then they do their best to fix them, if we do not want to speak to them there is other members of Siemens that we can speak to and then they pass it on to the others.
I do a lot of volunteering for Siemens and each time I do it, I get a champions and this normally comes with a reward from £5-£1000. When I was in repair I was asked to rework 36 board which took about 15-25 minutes to do each and I go them done in a day and a half, for my hard work I got a champions and the managing director personal came to the repair area to thank me. Overall I think I am fairly valued by the company and i feel great in the job im doing.
At first the training was a bit disorganised but Siemens put someone that wanted to do the roll so that they would put 110% to help the apprentice get the training. The support in Siemens is good if you need help and show interest then everyone will help. Studying is not the best because most of your time is taken doing your day to day rolls and when you get the chance something pops up but my manager gives me the chance if I fall behind he gives me time to catch up.
All the training Siemens have done has been supported every well. my manager and placement manager are very supportive and they help if I have a problem. I know that there is help usually given if i need it however sometimes i find it difficult to find the right person to talk to within the business and i am unsure if my problem should be taken to my manager or close employee etc. I think that the support system could be improved however in general i am quite happy with how my problems are handled.
My manager and mentor always give me support if I need it. If I have a problem I can get guidance from them both, and they will find the time to help me if they are busy. As said above however i find it difficult to find the right person to talk to within the business and i am unsure if my problem should be taken to my manager or close employee etc. I think that the support system could be improved however in general i am quite happy with how my problems are handled.
My salary could be better and it would help if it was because I spend about £30 on fuel for my car per week, my insurance is around £35 per week (which i sometimes find difficult to pay as this is over £1800 a year). I have to pay for food etc. as well and although i feel i manage my finances fairly well it can be difficult sometimes. My food costs is normally £20-£50 per week and I try my best to save £400-£500 a month. I wish I could save more but I cannot.
There is a lot of volunteering at Siemens with local school, which I get involved with there is the roller coaster challenge which is for primary and high schools and I do about 40-50 hours for these and they are two events over the year. I am doing a careers fair about a local high school in the coming weeks for Siemens. I feel as though the company could give us more information on charity events or local events in the towns or surrounding towns as it would be nice to get this information.
Yes
Because it is a good first step in employment and Siemens can give you good skills to help you in life. They also will give you training to help expand your skills. I think that anyone could benefit from applying and working in Siemens, i think that they can help you expand your skills in the job role you go into within the business but also you can get a good full time job here and also get further along with your education too. I would definitely let close friends and family know of the apprenticeship scheme here as i think it's really good.
Be yourself they are not looking just for the best on paper they are look for the people who will be the best at what they will be doing in the future. Ensure that you put yourself across in a really good and positive way. Try to enjoy the whole process as it could benefit you in future interviews even if you are unsuccessful in getting into Siemens. Ensure you research the business online and get correct information and then try show you have done this in the interview itself.
Details
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Engineering
March 2018