Operations Degree Apprentice Review

My general day includes a morning 9AM meeting in the factory with all managers and area specialists where we catch up on the last 24 hours of production. Actions normally come out of this which I may be assigned to complete. Other than that during the day, there are always problem solving activities to complete, projects to work on and employees to train/coach.

Yes, from day one you start to learn. Although I have ended up using the people skills I have always had. Nestlé has given me the opportunity to develop myself through insights and development plans alongside the necessary training. I have definitely improved my excel skills and knowledge of how production occurs.

It was a tough start as it is such a change in environment to anything I have previously been involved in. However once you start to understand the logistics of the factory and the programme, it becomes exciting as every day is different to the other and you are faced with new challenges all the time.

You have regular check ins with your line manager in regards to development plans and goals I need to achieve. You also get alignment across all other apprentices throughout the country during university weeks to make sure everyone is on with activities to a similar level. The programme could probably do with a more structured overall plan.

You get support from your local manager on site, however that was tough to start with as my line manager is the area manager who is very busy. However once you get past the initial start, you become more interactive with each other. I also have support from on site mentors and other graduates/apprentices.

It can be hard to get a lot of support from university as we are there for such a small amount of time at each time of the year we attend. However when we are there, we have a few people who go the extra mile for us if there is any issue with timings, or the work itself. There are people you can email or call at any time which is good.

A lot, we have to make sure we evidence that the knowledge we are gaining at university can be used in the workplace and there is a large spreadsheet where you have to evidence this. Some aspects are harder to use in the factory like sales/marketing however the operations based modules are a huge help.

At Halifax, which is production and no commercial offices, there are not really any social events however depending on what team you are in, there is always lots of free cake and sweets around the factory. The more sports and activities are at the main offices. However there is lots of charity work to get involved in.

Yes

Great variety in the workplace, the combination of getting paid and studying for a fully funded degree, a healthy salary and benefit programme, great experience with one of the biggest companies in the world, potential to see more of the company than just your local site, opportunities for internal growth.

Get stuck in form day one, introduce yourself to people and understand how the different production lines work . Then you can start doing projects and making a real difference to contribute to growth and improvement. Get involved with as much as you can without giving yourself work overload and enjoy the weeks away at university.