Maintenance Engineer Review

On a day to day basis within the company, I work amongst a team of engineers who maintain the machinery used by the other staff in order to maximise the effectiveness of production. This will include carrying out relevant servicing and fixing breakdowns where needed. The company have also put effort into me by sending me out on external training courses which benefit both me and them in the long run like IPAF training.

I have not only gained an abundance of new skills whilst working with Tulip and the Birmingham Metropolitan College, I have also developed my knowledge on the how the topics/units we are covering are relevant in the workplace not only in my current employment, but also life skills I could keep with me for my future. I feel I have developed as a person and it has benefitted me massively.

I do enjoy the programme I am doing a lot. However, when travelling over 300 miles a week for six weeks to be at college can sometimes be a little tedious. That doesn't mean to say I don't enjoy and value the time and effort whilst I'm up here but it does get too much from time to time. In terms of work, I thoroughly enjoy the day to day stuff that I get challenged with.

It varies regularly. In terms of college things have improved greatly. When we first started the organisation was poor, we had a series of different lectures by teachers who weren't particularly good with the way they taught their groups, the lessons were disorganised and the timetables were all wrong. Since then however things have greatly improved and are moving a lot more freely.

When at my site I receive support in abundance whenever I need it. However, when I come to college I do not hear from any of them asking how we're getting on or whether there is anything they can do to help us out whilst we are up here. Whether we have any concerns or issues we'd like to raise have to wait until we get back.

The college are very good at catering to peoples needs, especially when an important exam is coming up. A few times I have asked for some extra support after hours and they have obliged by staying with me to help me in areas I am struggling in. They try to involve everyone in discussions and get us working as a team wherever possible.

So far in the apprenticeship it has been a very generalised in the sense it is maintenance engineering as a career, we haven't done anything that is company specific. Learning skills that I could apply into my work at tulip have been few and far between so far, but some of the skills in terms of maintenance and electrics are transferable.

There is a sports and social club run and funded by our site. The social clubs often organise trips for their employees to different locations at a cheap rate. I can't say I've been on them myself, but it is organised by people at the site, but not too well organised.

Yes

Tulip as a company look after their employees well the majority of the time. In terms of the apprenticeships we've had some issues for 2 years with the hotel and the facilities. We have just had a new apprenticeship manager start and those issues have been rectified within a week. so we'll see how it goes for now as it is improving

Be open-minded about what is it you are applying for. if it is an apprenticeship, you'll get back what you put into it in terms of effort and support. You need to make sure it is definitely what you want to do because if it isn't, the little niggles will not make it enjoyable. If it is what you want to do it can be a great experience.