Level 5 Laboratory Apprentice Review

I am a biology laboratory apprentice working in respiratory where our main focus is on asthma and COPD. I study one day a week towards an applied bioscience degree and the other four days carrying out laboratory work. I work at early stage target discovery and validation. I also attend team meetings, seminars and write up laboratory work.

I have learnt many new practical skills from working in the laboratory that I feel I would otherwise not have learnt yet by being at university. I have also developed my communicational skills and confidence through presenting my work in team meetings and meeting new people, including other apprentices from different GSK sites and companies. I have developed my networking skills by working with colleagues in different departments.

I enjoy both the study side of my programme (applied bioscience degree with Kent university) and also the laboratory side of the programme. the modules I am learning through the qualification are interesting and they cover a wide range of topics, not just biology. I am able to put this into practice in the work place. I also enjoy being in the laboratory and learning new techniques every day.

My programme is very well organised and structured and if there are any problems they are quickly sorted out. As I am the third year GSK have had apprentices, any problems that were encountered in previous years have been sorted out for me. the qualification is well structured with the weekly study topics and exams 3 times a year. My work week is also well structured as I take one study day a week and work at GSK the other four days.

I receive a lot of support from my employer, including from my line manager, mentor, buddy and other colleagues in my team. There is always somebody around who can help me with both the practical side of things but also in my development. I also receive a lot of support with my university work from people in my team as a lot of them are experts in the fields.

I receive a lot of support from the University of Kent when studying towards my degree. There is a support page on our online system so any questions are quickly answered by the lecturers. When it is close to exams they are always willing to mark past papers and provide us with any resources we would benefit from.

I believe my qualification helps me a lot in my job role as I am able to learn about some of the laboratory techniques I am carrying out but also the reasoning behind the work I do. They fit nicely together and benefit eachother. Some aspects of the qualification do not tie directly into my role but it helps to gain knowledge in other aspects of drug discovery that I would not otherwise know.

There are many social activities that I get involved in through my work. I attend a weekly netball class, there are apprentice socials run by NxtGen and also socials run by my department. There are also networking events that are held throughout the year to meet other people from different departments within GSK.

Yes

I am very much enjoying the University course and I also like how I am learning on the job and gaining knew experiences and knowledge every day. GSK encourage you to develop yourself as a person a lot and they will support you in any way possible. There are also many apprentices hired from GSK which means there is a good social aspect to the apprenticeship.

Make sure you prepare for the interview as it is a very competitive and lengthy process. Research into GSK as a company before the interview, specifically our values and expectations as they are key to anybody working at GSK. Do not lie in the application as you may be quizzed on it during an interview.