Assistant Technician Review

my job title is assistant technician which means on a daily basis I work with engineers and technicians alike to complete CAD tasks, and engaging with designers to come up with solutions to engineering problems. I work on a joint venture project that is in the construction phase so I liaise with colleagues from several companies.

The training programme I am on will see me achieve a HNC in Civil Engineering before I enroll onto a part-time BEng Degree in Civil engineering, which is sponsored by my company. There are many internal courses I can do too, including software training, and personal skills development training. In my industry there are many accrediting organisations that host out of hours development opportunities ranging from seminars to networking events. From these experiences I have gained knowledge in my field (Highways) and the wider field of civil engineering, and have been able to master the software I use on a daily basis to be able to complete my job, although I wish that more design work opportunities were available.

The university we attend is not very local to where I live, and there was no say in where we could go to study. The company offer lots of perks and benefits including flexible working. There are various projects to get involved in ranging from high profile projects to local county council work which makes for a good variety.

My manager gives credit where it's due and shares achievements across the wider team and gives the opportunity to get involved in different aspects to the project.

Upon starting as an apprentice we had a week away in London for the formal induction process and to meet this years intake of apprentices nationally. The college had been working with the company for many years and established a good relationship. There are always people to make themselves available to hep you out with one to one's or team meetings. The structure of my programme seems very well set up.

I feel my tutor doesn't lend much advice outside of lectures and pushes you to find out answers for yourself, perhaps a little too much. The days at college vary from 9-4 or 9-6 which can sometimes make the days drag.

I feel that whenever I have asked for support my employer has always been there on all levels, whether it's asking a colleague for a hand in completing a task or asking my line manager for something more important.

I feel that the salary is good in comparison to apprenticeships in general and I can live comfortably for now.

there are many out of work events held by my company for both professional topics and leisure/ sports opportunities, and networking.

Yes

Very good company to work for and you feel well looked after.

Make sure you look into the company and what the company stands for and read Arup's 'Ovacode' so you can learn more about what kind of company this is.