Product Development Apprentice Review

I work in release and stability in product development in a GMP (good manufacturing practice which is a regulated standard) analytical team where I am trained and worked in a range of analytical techniques including XRPD, NMR, liquid chromatography, particle size distribution and dissolution. The work I do is different everyday and depends on what work is needed to be done.

Alongside learning a wide range of analytical techniques I also get to learn a lot of background behind the techniques and more about the work that goes into developing a drug. I've gained a lot of confidence in communication as well as furthering my scientific understanding. There are plenty of opportunities to develop skills you are interested in at AZ

I work in a very supportive and friendly team who constantly help me with my work and answer questions I have (doesn't have to be work related!) . There is a lot of support available throughout the whole company and it has exceeded my expectations of how I thought apprentices would be treated.

The laboratory science program is well established in both the department and the company with someone responsible for the PT&D apprentices. I also have a mentor who helps with uni work and when I first started in the team I had a buddy who helped me with laboratory work. I got a training program and induction when I joined that was designed for apprentices.

I receive a lot of help and support from my employer particularly with regards to my study. I receive one uni day a week and have never had a problem taking it. It's easy to get support you need with so many people available to help you out with problems.

The tutors work hard to help us but we do find some modules harder to work through than others with distance learning. Although I enjoy the course I hope that in the future there is less overlap of modules when there is a big deadline. In general, the course tutors are very supportive and try to help where they can.

Some of the modules we complete often feel less relevant than other courses but when we complete a project towards the end of the module (for example, business improvement) you find that it is used in many places in the company. We do have less chemistry earlier on in the course than other providers which could be seen as beneficial or not.

There are plenty of events within the company. I recently participated in a hackathon and employees also get one day a year to spend volunteering (normally taken with your team). There is also a gym and you can join ClubAZ which provides many extra curricular activities such as football or wine tasting.

Yes

The support the apprentices receive is great and managers tend to support when more uni time is needed (rather than trying to take time away). It's a great place to work with opportunities to specialise in areas you're interested in and develop new skills and abilities as well as make new friends.

They have a strong focus on values so every answer you give you should think about whether it gives to a value both during application and interviews. The interviews aren't science based and scary - more about seeing how you work and what skills you have that you can bring to the company