Laboratory apprentice Review

I am a biology lab apprentice and I rotate groups in my department yearly. I am currently working on assay optimization in the B cell cloning team. On a daily basis I run PCR assays. gel electrophoresis and transfect cell lines with DNA from sorted B cells. I work alongside my supervisor and the rest of the team to complete tasks and my main responsibility is writing up my experiments and reporting my data to the wider team.

This year I have learnt to become more independent and I have taken on more challenging work. I now have skills to complete PCR reactions, produce vectors for cloning work, learnt how to use automation machinery and improved on my current cell culture technique. In my new role I have learnt to speak up when problems occur and deal with them without the input of my manager.

The programme has massively improved over the last two years but HR still lack communication with the University. Also the University often change deadlines with short notice which makes it difficult to plan study around work priorities. Overall the programme is very well though-out with minor issues that are still being resolved.

The programme is structured clearly and the flow of work is well organised. I would like to see improvements made to how the deadlines are structured for future work as these often change and make working towards a goal harder. I enjoy the week away at Kent University as the week is well planned out with lots of interesting activities and this gives us the opportunity to experience what University life would have been like.

When I was a first year apprentice I received lots of support from everyone I was in contact with (in work and at the University) however, over the progression of the programme I have become more independent and naturally the support I now need has decreased. I still have regular meetings with my manager to ensure I am on track to complete my degree and to check I am satisfied in work/if I have any problems. We also receive additional support from mentors at the University who travel to site every 3 months to review our progress.

The reviews every 3 months provides the right amount of support we need to complete our degree to a high standard. We talk about my progression through the modules and what I need to do to stay on track or to catch up. These reviews are documented and provide objectives to work towards which encourage us to finish the degree on time or even earlier.

The qualification is aimed towards our work needs and covers a range of topics/modules that are highly relevant in our work place roles. The training provider gives us the skills to read other material outside the course information which we can do to learn about new techniques in work. Therefore if the course content doesn't cover all our needs we know how to search for the right information and as this is a self-taught degree these are skills we are required to develop.

There are opportunities to join social activities such as netball and football but we also have a range of departmental/team relationship building activities which take place outside of work and allow us to get to know our team better. We have an apprentice network that organises events for us to attend to increase our networking with other students.

Yes

It is an excellent company to work for with great values and takes care of their employees. The University work hard to ensure 100% of students pass their degree to a high standard and provide support all the way through the programme. There a re fun opportunities to meet other students throughout the course too.

Make sure you have done your research about the company and think about whether they are who you want to work for. Consider if you would be willing to move away from home if you would have to relocate and how this would impact your life. This is a great opportunity to improve on so many skills and learn new ones.