Nuclear Higher Apprentice Review

Whilst at work my role changes every 3-6months. This is due to me being in different placements throughout the company in order to learn different roles prior to me choosing my exit role. Therefore, every placement is different meaning I am constantly learning new skills and meeting new people. As well as going to work 4 days a week, 1 day a week I attend college. Here I learn two different modules every semester which include assignments and exams.

As I am relatively new to the company I have not learnt any new skills as of yet. Prior to joining the company I had basic IT skills, yet since joining I feel I have improved my skills in order to deliver certain tasks. The benefit of working for the company is that there a multiple opportunities in order to learn new skills as they run a wide range of courses to develop their employees.

When I first joined my scheme I wasn't 100% satisfied. However, four months in my feelings have changed and I am enjoying it more. The perk about the rotational placement scheme is that if you don't like a placement, you aren't in it forever. On the other hand, I particularly enjoy the college work.

When I joined the scheme, myself and everyone else in my cohort were given a placement plan. This shows each one of us the duration of our placements and exactly where we will be for the 3 years of the scheme, with the final 2 years being in our chosen exit role. This is well structured as if there is a placement we don't like the look of, we can discuss it with our Discipline Manager to look into swapping. The scheme isn't perfect but the majority of things are well organised.

During the scheme we have lots of people to talk to if needs be. These are our Line Managers, Discipline Mangers, and Placement Managers. All of them are keen for us to do well and to enjoy what we do. If we aren't happy, they want to know in order to rectify it. As well as having lots of support for work related topics, there are other numerous people to turn to for personal matters if we require some form of support.

So far, all my college tutors have been exceptionally helpful when working towards my qualifications. The bonus of us having a small class (10 students) is that if we have a problem in class, the tutor is able to help us relatively straight away. Despite us only being at college one day a week, if we have any college work problems when we are elsewhere, we are able to contact the tutors and they get back in touch with as much help that they can give.

As the qualifications are split into modules at college, certain modules are more beneficial than others when relating back to my work role. Anything engineering based relates straight back to my work role, whereas other modules such as Literacy may have less of an impact. Despite this, each module will benefit me as an individual and whilst at this moment in time I feel like it doesn't benefit my work role, it might do in the future.

During this scheme we I have the opportunity to partake in what the company calls STRETCH assignments. These are tasks different to our day to day role in order to make networks throughout the company and to learn new skills that we might not learn through our scheme. These can include running events within the business or travelling elsewhere to deliver a presentation or to run a class or some kind.

Yes

It is a company that has many different job opportunities available offering lots of different career paths. The company wants you to do well meaning they can provide lots of further education qualifications if they deem it necessary and you are willing to work for it. They have many different sites across the world so you could have the potential to take your trade overseas.

Do your research. Make sure you know what you're talking about to your interviewer. Be interested in what is you will be working to achieve. There is no point applying for a role if you do not find it interesting. Don't be afraid to ask questions. It shows you are keen to learn.