Non-Destructive Testing Apprentice Review

Days are balanced between office work (Barnwood) and station work around all of EDF's nuclear sites. So training is balanced between theory based work at Barnwood and practical, hands-on work on site working with audit teams and contract partners to carry out Non-destructive inspections on various components and welds.

I started from scratch so I have learned a lot about NDT and the duties of an NDT technician within EDF. I have also learned lots about the company through internal training courses and have gained valuable insights into the working of power stations both generally and when on outage.

I have enjoyed my programme so far, and have gotten to travel to four of EDF's nuclear sites around the country. My colleagues are extremely friendly and always answer any questions I have regarding the industry and NDT processes. The only negative is that I am left with little to do sometimes, particularly when at Barnwood. Leaving me just reading notes.

As mentioned, my time is split between site work and office work. The structure is flexible; meaning that my time at a particular site isn't regular or recurring, I only really go to site when the station is on an outage so therefore I could go to site twice in four months or once in 10 months. However there are lots of factors affecting whether I go to site i.e location, other work that I am currently undertaking and training courses etc. I enjoy the structure and balance between site work and office work.

I receive plenty of support from my employer, particularly from my mentor who I have a weekly telephone call with to discuss progress, any work I have performed during the week, opportunities for me and any questions. When I first started at Barnwood my accommodation was paid for and I received £30 worth of expenses every evening, this was extremely helpful and something I was extremely gracious of.

My training provider; Skills training UK have been fantastic and have always made an effort to check up on my progress. I have a monthly call/meet with at least one of their representatives, with them twice coming to Barnwood to check progress and outline a detailed training plan for the next few years.

I haven't started the Skills training UK qualification training as of yet, I am due to start it later on in the year. I anticipate that the training will be useful and will intertwine with my work at stations. It should also give me a balanced overview of areas I wouldn't neccessarily come into contact with.

There is a sports and social club based at Barnwood that I may look at joining in the future, I know there is a gym as well, that I believe is very cheap or may even be free. There are also groups who go out running from Barnwood, this may be worth doing in the future.

Yes

High quality training working with state of the art equipment, it's the opportunity to get into a stable and secure industry and the chance the visit a multitude of stations and to travel the country. Colleagues are very helpful and friendly and will always answer any questions that arise.

-Research the company and the field of work you are applying for -Nuclear safety is at the heart of everything -Stay organised and on top of work and assignments -Ask questions, if you aren't sure just ask. -Always be honest, if you don't understand something or don't feel comfortable doing a task, just be honest.