Microbiology Apprentice Review

Over the 3 years I have worked in GSK I have experienced three roles. Currently I am in a monitoring team which means on a daily basis I go out into our production areas and take swabs and air samples to ensure we maintain a very high quality standard. I have also worked in sterility testing where by job role consisted of testing sterile products manufactured on site for microbial growth in an Isolator. Finally my second year was spent in a lab which makes the media in which we grow organisms, in this lab I also sterilised equipment using an autoclave.

Over the course of my apprenticeship something I believe I have developed is confidence. Confidence to speak up in meetings etc.. but also confidence in my own ideas. When I worked in the product testing lab I promoted an idea that was unusual to say the least, the team took It on board and we worked with the wider team to implement it, my idea now saves the team a lot of time when testing a certain product and hence has saved a lot of money too. People respecting my ideas and the benefit of it pulling off really boosted my confidence in my own abilities.

Sometimes it gets a little stressful when I feel like I am juggling workload with my degree however overall I love what I do at work. I really feel like I am benefiting our patients with the work I do on site and so I love hearing the stories of patients we've helped or what the hard work we did last week meant for the patients at the end of the supply chain this week.

In my first year I wasn't trained very fast so had a lot of free time in the first few months however once I was trained I ended up being relied on quite a bit and therefore my time in there ran over by 2 months which impacted my second rotation and thus my third. My degree however is very structured even though I am a distance learner. I complete an exam(s) every February, July and November, I am on track to complete my degree this October.

When I comes to my degree and the challenges I face being a distance learner, work really steps up to the mark. In my department everyone has the knowledge I need to complete my degree therefore whenever I am stuck there are plenty of people eager to help. I also has a designated mentor outside of my team who I can go to with whatever I want/ need however I sometimes feel like he is too busy to take time out of is schedule for me.

I don't get a lot of support from them, I am left to my own devises so to speak. They have emails and phone numbers however aren't the best at responding. My support from work really makes up where the university lack. That said their support isn't often needed as their curricular material is well presented.

I have completed two modules so far (out of 9) that have applied to my workplace. These both helped me expand my knowledge about why we do certain procedures and what precautions are in place for a variety of reasons. Other modules not directly related include a one on business improvement which did help strengthen my skills in terms of presentations etc.. which has benefited me in the workplace.

We have a lot of opportunities as members of our team and also the apprentice community. So far I have completed resilience training at Old Trafford, outward bound events in both the Lake District and Wales, I have visited my University twice and also within work have lead tours for rather high up people around my department, allowed to be project lead on a business improvement project and also lead a Learning and Innovation festival on site.

Yes

I have become a valued member of Microbiology, gaining a lot of new skills and knowledge. At the end of the apprenticeship I will hold a foundation degree with the opportunity to make it a full degree. I am also fortunate enough to be able to sustain a house on my wage at 20 years old.

Have a look at the companies values, every employee is expected to know and live by them therefore they will definitely come up in your application/ interview. Also, complete extra curricular activities which make you stand out from the rest, grades are important but its not everything. For example having a part time when young shows good work ethic and maturity.