mechanical apprentice Review

my role is an apprentice which means i am here to learn. i work alongside qualified fitters and learn from them. they supervise me doing most jobs but most if you act interested enough will let you have a lot of responsibility. meaning they will allow you to complete jobs on your own with no help

yes i have learned basic mechanical knowledge in all fields and gained more knowledge in specialised fields like heating and hot water engineering, garage mechanics, high and low pressure air mechanics and machining skills such as pillar drilling, lathes and meals and also got confined space training and other health and safety training

in the first year it was like being in college as we spent most of our time in a training centre learning from computers and instructors. it was fun because of the other apprentices i worked with like most things it is mainly about who you work with. when i got sent out to the sites my enjoyment of the programme dropped as we were put with experienced fitters who may or may not want you around them as most prefer not to have to teach an apprentice. not everyone is like this however as some are happy to take you under your wing and treat you well, its luck of the draw

the worst thing about this programme is the organisation. the communication is terrible at times meaning you miss many meetings you needed to go to or you get told off for doing something you did not have the knowledge of. this is an area that could massively be improve on.

if you speak to the right people and explain your situations well and go about it in the right way some managers and team leaders can be very helpful in supporting you. however many times as an apprentice you are not the main priority on their list so they may not be interested. i assume this is the case at most apprenticeships

the training providers where brought in from babcock. another company that we worked alongside. they were all very knowledgeable and helpful in work problems and if you needed anything outside of work they would give you as much advise and help as you needed (in terms of cars and other things you use on a daily basis) they were very interested in making you pass everything. probably because it effected them if you did not but aside from that they were great teachers.

my qualification would allow me to work on mechanical equipment by myself with no supervisation. this would help me greatly as i feel the only time you really learn advanced things is when you are forced to learn the equipment and figure out problems by yourself without someone spoon feeding you.

yes my work has a range of activitys you can get involved in. you can do plenty of sports as we work in a naval base and all kinds of sports equipment is available for your use because the navy allows us to use theire facilities. there are also plenty of courses and stuff you can go on.

No

I have had highs and lows with this apprenticeship which means it is very varied on opinions. i know some that love every moment and others that cant wait for it to be over. i am the middle ground. i couldnt tell you the good things without letting you know the bad. i wouldnt reccomend this to a friend because if they listen to me it is 4 years of there life that they could hate because of my reccomendation. they could love it but it is not worth the risk.

try and get a bit of experience and knowledge before you come to the company, whether thats another job, course or just doing work/research in your spare time. the company will employ anyone that has a good interview. but the people working here will not appreciate having to teach you every basic detail. this will not give you a good reputation/first impression and could make your 4 years here very difficult