Mechanical Engineering Technical Support Apprentice Review

The general day-to-day activities I would be involved in depends on the placement I was in. My role as a technical support apprentice places me in an office environment, providing support to the shop floor employees. Whether this be implementing instructional work layouts, resolving engineering problems or assessing the quality of work.

I have learnt a lot of new skills during my apprenticeship. This includes developing personal traits in my confidence, public speaking, inquisition, team working and time management. Furthermore, I learnt new skills within engineering and problem solving: learning specific knowledge of the company products while also gaining a broad background knowledge of engineering at college and through my NVQ.

I enjoyed my apprenticeship program a lot. I feel like taking the apprenticeship route as an alternative to university allowed me to mature faster, give me freedom over my own decisions while still allowing me to meet new people, gain new friends. I enjoyed the diversity of this apprenticeship course, having a number of placements around the factory allowed me to meet a large amount of people and learn a lot of different skills.

The organization of my apprenticeship program was excellent. The first year we were all assessed and assigned to a full time college course depending on our existing knowledge. After this first year we were given a full 3 year list of the 4 month placements we would be attending. Throughout the program we were reminded of the structure and expectations.

I receive a lot of support from my employer for all number of activities and situations. They support us with our training and development over the duration of the apprenticeship. They are always on hand for any questions or queries we may have. Siemens also have great benefits and I receive a lot of support for welfare services such as free eye tests.

We receive good support from our training provider, Lincoln college when working towards our qualifications. There is a course manager who reviews our progress and asks about our satisfaction of the course. The subject tutors are always available to contact for any questions you have about the work you are doing.

I am very confident that the education I take part in as part of my apprenticeship helps me perform better in my role. As a technical apprentice there can often be complex situations that require a lot of knowledge to understand and the education I am taking part in helps me understand some of these situations.

Personally, I do not get involved in many of the sporting teams available to join at Siemens. I know that there are plenty of teams such as football teams available to join. I take part in some of the work nights out that are arranged around Christmas time, as well as the dress down days we have each month.

Yes

Siemens have provided me with an excellent experience throughout my apprenticeship. They have allowed me to grow and mature as an individual and become a valuable asset to the company. They are a very professional company and also have a huge range of opportunities throughout the world in a large number of fields.

My advice to anyone applying to the Siemens apprenticeship would be to try your hardest and show that you are willing to learn and have a keen interest in engineering and in the company. Do not over stress about the existing engineering knowledge you have, as this is something that can be learnt during the apprenticeship.