Apprentice Vehicle Technician Review

I work as a DAF Apprentice in a dealership in Frome. On a day to day basis my job involves a wide variety of tasks. Working in a busy workshop allows me to gain knowledge of the vehicles by completing different jobs both with a colleague and on my own.

Coming into this job I was not very competent with the vehicles I would be working on, however there is a lot of training and support available to help me gain more knowledge within the job. I get sent to college every few months for two week blocks where we focus on different topics every time.

This is a very good programme to be apart of as you are given a lot of support from colleagues, college teachers and your Skillnet case worker. I have become a valued member of the workshop and get on well with my colleagues, making it easy to enjoy my job.

This programme is very well structured as all of the college dates are provided months in advance so you are able to plan around your college to ensure that you don't miss any college blocks. Your Skillnet worker will also keep in contact with you to arrange dates when they can come into your work place to get your write ups from you.

There is a lot of support available to me and the other apprentices as there are a number of people who I am able to talk to if there are ever any problems I am facing. even though I haven't needed to use them, it is good to know that there is a lot of support for me if I ever did need it.

My Skillnet worker provides me with a lot of support when going through this programme, he comes into my work every few months to have a chat, get job cards that I have completed and observe me completing jobs. All of which are needed to help me complete my qualification.

The types of jobs that I am required to complete to finish my qualification allows me to work on more complicated jobs. This allows me to gain more knowledge of the vehicles and become more confident and enthusiastic when I would need to do these jobs on my own eventually.

There is a good social element within the company. We have had a few social nights out where we would go out for a meal and some drinks. The company also set on a bowling night for all of the apprentices in the area where we met knew people and had a fun night out.

Yes

It is a good, friendly place to work, where there are a lot of opportunities to learn and develop as a technician. Also, as an apprentice the pay is very good for an apprentice wage. After the apprenticeship there is a guaranteed job at the end of it all too.

Just go in there with the right attitude to go in and learn. Be polite to colleague you are working with as they will be more likely to help you and want to work with you if you show them some respect and are open to learning and listening to what they are trying to tell you.