Instrument Technician Apprentice Review

Each day begins in the workshop where you will be given your tasks which will be based on priority. Next you will begin the pre-job stuff which will likely be getting a permit and writing a risk assessment. Most of the time you will be working with a tradesman however there is plenty of opportunities to work independently if you choose to and the team will always be available to assist you with these tasks if you need them to.

Throughout the entire Apprenticeship you will gradually build up a new skill base which for a Instrument apprenticeship will be things like problem solving, team work, communication and leadership as on occasions you will need to take charge with a task to help yourself learn and to prove yourself as a good employee

Day to day sometimes things can get mundane and you may be a little lost sometimes but if you are willing to learn then you will never be bored as there's always something new that you won't have seen before going on and you will always be welcome to get involved, so for this reason I really enjoy my time at work.

The programme has been in place for many years and although always evolving it has a tried and tested structure that is set in place from day one and you won't ever find yourself not knowing what's going on with your training. You'll never worry about things not being in place.

Simply as much is needed/wanted, your line manager will always ask if theres anything that you need and how things are going, if you tell them you need a little more time or training on something you'll get it, if you say you'd like less support and to work on your a little more and the tradesman confirm you are capable then you'll be allowed to.

The training provider regularly meets with you and keeps you up to date with your progress and will always give you feed back on your work, the theory work is done at college and your logbooks are all done online with a system called Onefile which is okay to use but could be improved.

The work you do through the training provider is extremely relevant to the work onsite, most of the theory you can see working in place on the site and having a good understanding of the academic side will assist you when doing jobs on site. It can also be very beneficial in a problem solving situation.

There are many events through the year that you can take part in, on site there is the social club which hosts many events such as party nights, as part of your apprenticeship you will be sent to London to visit the headquarters in year one, in year 2 you get to go to the lake district for outward bound activities and is extremely fun and Manchester (separate events 1 weeks each) and in year 3 you will go to wales again for a week where if your lucky you get to go helicopter riding.

Yes

They have great opportunities to learn skills and pay competitively, when qualified there are many opportunities to move up through the company. You will always be looked after when at the company and the current employees know their stuff so if you're really looking to learn then it's here you want to be.

If you get to the interview stage your attitude is extremely important, they're not just looking for someone who's going to be good at the job they want people who are going to bring enthusiasm and who are going to fit in well with the GSK mentality do your research to find out what this is and you'll certainly impress !