Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Apprentice Review

I am based at an advanced water treatment site four days a week in which I assist engineers with the mechanical and electrical maintenance associated with such an engineering process. I have also attended college one day per week to work towards a level 2 and level 3 in performing engineering operations as well as a level 4 HNC in general engineering.

I gain new skills and knowledge every single day in the work place which contribute to developing my engineering experience throughout the entire apprenticeship which I will continue to use everyday upon completion of the apprenticeship. The Apprenticeship also teaches more than just workplace skills, it has allowed me to develop people skills as I work alongside many different people.

I really enjoy working towards achieving my apprenticeship. I work along side great people who are always willing to help and keep the work place interesting. The apprenticeship goes far beyond work as I have made many friends who I do a range of activities with which are arranged by work as well as outside of work time.

Thames Water organise the programme relatively well. The Apprentices are often well informed of important aspects of how the apprenticeship is run. The apprentices are also given a voice to contribute ideas towards the apprenticeship. However, I have been disappointed with Activate learning at times due to their poor organisation resulting in months worth of work not being marked, and no assessor assigned to me to help track my progress.

I have received good support throughout my apprenticeship all of the way from the head of the apprenticeship to my line manager and on site mentor. Thames Water offer excellent support for both work related issues as well as good pastoral care services if needed. I feel like I would always be able to get the support I need

Support from my training provider activate has been good at times. I have had a couple of good assessors who have provided useful feedback and helped me progress. However, this has been overshadowed by activates poor staff retention. I have had a number of different assessors which has provided poor consistency through my apprenticeship. The worst was when I had a 6 month period without an assessor which made it extremely difficult for me to track my progress and continue with my progression through this time.

Carrying out log book entries are very relevant to my job role. It allows me to record the tasks which I have carried out. This allows me to improve my knowledge on the task as I revisit it and must explain how I have carried the task out. The use of underpinning knowledge questions are useful as it makes me research a unit in more detail and improve my knowledge.

The apprentices carry out a few networking events each year. This often allows us the chance to carry out some charity work which will benefit the local community or water aid. these days are often filled with interesting activities. We also occasionally go to work place breakfast or dinner as a site when we are performing well

Yes

Thames Water is a great apprenticeship provider for people looking to work in the engineering industry. I often here positive feedback from external contractors who I work with on the quality of the Thames Water apprenticeship. It is a great opportunity to develop both work place and life skills and experience to help you develop your career.

Show a willingness to put the work in as you will achieve. Employees throughout the whole company would be willing to help an apprentice develop their career if they show interest and willingness to work hard and develop themselves as a person. The most important thing is to enjoy your time working for Thames Water as you will gain many great experiences in your time working here.