R&D apprentice Review

I work in the Inhalation Toxicology department of Unilever’s Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre as an R&D Apprentice currently progressing towards the long term goal of the role of a Study Director. On paper, my daily job is no different to any of the full-time qualified scientists I work with; hands-on practical work in the lab, writing reports, designing studies and contributing to an active influential scientific community in various committees, forums and Communities of Practice. The work we do involves measuring simulated consumer use and foreseeable misuse of Unilever products and prototypes that pose an inhalation Toxicological Safety risk. In reality the overwhelming majority of my time at work is spent attending meetings, juggling corporate policies, cycling through convoluted administrative procedures and drowning in regulatory paperwork. One day a week I study Applied BioScience (BSc) at the University of Kent via distance learning.

I have been trained as a scientist under GLP conditions and have developed a technical niche for troubleshooting and IT skills. Initially I undertook a lot of training for a specialist role. Development has stagnated in the years since due to budget cuts, time constraints and short-staffing. My skills have been naturally railroaded to suit the company needs, which is understandable- but not the apprenticeship as advertised to me in 2012. Other apprentices on site get to rotate around departments, learning new things and seeing more of the company. I have independently sought mentoring and training opportunities in area's which interest me but the crushing demands of my existing role allow very little time to broaden my horizons.

I'm not going to lie; it is hard work and it takes a great deal of self discipline to study the Uni course after work at home in evenings and weekends. Admittedly I sometimes regret not going to university full time, joining clubs and societies and making friends with more people my age- but on the flipside I can feel grateful for having no student debt and a good salary which helped me acquire a mortgage on a house. The working environment is relatively relaxed, my colleagues are friendly and the apprenticeship has given me a headstart in life. The company culture is soul-destroying and morale has been decreasing across the whole site for years. A lot (I mean, a lot) of people have left for greener pastures and the majority of apprentices intend to leave (or have already left) after completion of their degrees.

Staff are underappreciated, overworked and expendable. Little is done for retention, dozens of people leave every year.

Pitifully organised. New apprentices go through the standard inductions, safety procedures and training sessions (which in some cases, can take 6 months or more). At 19, fresh out of school you're chucked in the deep end and hit by the endless abbreviations and alienating corporate jargon. You're given a line manager, various buddies, leads, mentors etc... all of this means something different to every apprentice in any department. Initially the apprenticeship was advertised as a well structured programme with regular development opportunities and a clear plan of where you'll be year-on-year. The reality turned out to be an ad hoc mess of whatever seemed right at the time- as such, some apprentices have been treated unfairly and others have somehow slipped ahead through loopholes. On a site like this, in a company like Unilever, its natural that departments will vary wildly across the board. The injustices are recognised (and even openly admitted) but I'm told thats just the way things are. In my opinion far too much effort is spent on making sure the company looks good externally, instead of caring about the people who work for it.

If the training provider means; University of Kent, my training provider is pretty good. There are lots of resources available online and email response times are fast.

From officially-designated supporting roles, little help is available due to aforementioned time constraints and budget cuts. I've grown and matured to fit the office environment during my 7 years here, so I know who to go to when I need help or support. I have learned that you need to follow office courtesy, find time in calendars, book meetings, plan and have contacts and policies to reference etc... For a new apprentice this is very hard and unnatural, causing some to become isolated, confused and eventually leave. My new line manager is really good, injecting some much-needed humanity into my immediate company food-chain. Where matters can be handled on a small, localised scale the outcome is usually positive. Other times, your voice is drowned out by the larger corporate machine. To Unilever's credit, at one point I had an extended period of absence from work due to mental health issues. The company had good policies in place to protect and support me while I sought help during that time and through part of my recovery. However, the fact that such strong policies exist says a lot.

I'm paid very well for an apprentice, however I have the full responsibilities and workload of a regular employee twice my age. Some apprentices are paid more or promoted prematurely for unspecified reasons. Some apprentices are paid less and have promotions held back for unreasonable specifications. Any grumblings are met with the justication of the tuition fee's the company is paying for.

Yes there's plenty going on in terms of sports and events on site. There used to be a big push for people to have a golden hour between 12 and 1pm to actually have some time to be a human but this has deteriorated.

No

My average work day is a cyclical hell of cheesy corporate funfairs and endless bureaucratic pandemonium.

Think long and hard about whether you really want the degree that is being offered in the job description. Don't expect to actually get to do the work promised on the job listing. Don't be too fussy about your expectations of science careers- before you go into a professional workplace you can't really tell how interesting it really can be to work in any particular field. Having a context to apply science to can completely change things. As I'm constantly told by colleagues here; "Unilever is a good place to leave." Meaning, it can be a good springboard into a smaller pond once you know more about office life and corporate science and choose a direction.