Multskilled Apprenticeship Engineer Review

by Unilever

Best Apprenticeship Employer

Rating

8.2/10

1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

Apprentice Engineer - Multiskilled. Carrying out daily tasks of reactive, preventative and planned maintenance to machinery and equipment. Getting involved in on-site projects by interacting with internal and external people. Allowing myself to have certain responsibilities which my capabilities allow me to have in order to get involved with jobs and learn as much as I can.

10/10

2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

Gained skills in Electrical and Mechanical engineering, from working on site with experienced engineers and off site on training courses.

9/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

I enjoy work. Great aspects of the job include; the team, the company, the work life balance and the ethic the factory has.

9/10

4. How valued do you feel by Unilever?

Great appreciation from my line manager and other managers on site. I've received internal recognition following PDP's and meetings. I've been valued when getting involved with projects, allowing for my ideas to be listened to.

9/10

5. How well organised/structured is your programme?

The majority of the programme is structured very well, with the on site training and working with experienced engineers, this aspect is great. I think the amount of training courses we have is minimal to extend our knowledge. The College side of the apprenticeship is the fall down part of the apprenticeship, with little organisation and structure to the course timeline.

6/10

6a. How much support do you receive from your training provider?

I receive a lot of support internally from engineers at work and externally from certain training courses.

8/10

6b. How much support do you receive from your employer?

The support from Unilever is great, including my manager, the engineers, operators and other areas of the company.

8/10

7. How well does your salary/package meet your costs?

My salary meets my costs okay. Living close to site and with parents helps these costs reduced. Although comparing salaries with other sites, Gloucester, Trafford Park and Leeds, it seems different areas get paid higher for the same job. Warrington's aspect of the '18 month full salary' post apprenticeship scheme is unlike many of the other factories also.

7/10

8. Are there many opportunities outside of work?

Outside of work and college, I get involved with doing as much sports as I can.

8/10

9. Would you recommend Unilever to a friend?

Yes

9b. Why?

It's a great company to do an apprenticeship as you will learn all that you need to know to become a great engineer and move forward in life in a career with good opportunities to move up in the company.

10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Unilever?

Be interested in the job you're applying for, if giving the opportunity for an interview, ask question and get involved on the assessment day to stand out from the other applicants. Try get a background experience of engineering prior to the job, gain and show you have a lot of knowledge about the job.