Substation Higher Apprentice Review

I am split into 3 areas as part of my apprenticeship, being based in my Swansea substation, National Grid training centre in Nottingham and also university in aston. my role is shadowing other engineers and craftpersons whilst on site as well as part taking in training courses in Nottingham. Also completing a foundation degree in power engineering in university.

I have leant loads of skills since working with National Grid. These include loads of new equations and things about electricity and power I never knew. Also lots of hands on experience including a 3 week LV wiring course which was really useful and I found very interesting. Also hands on experience whilst on site assisting other craftpersons.

I enjoy the programme very much as I have met new friends who have the same interests as me and are on my course. It is well organized and the training courses are superb as they teach you everything from start to finish. The hardest part for me however is university.

it is very well organized and structured as we have yearly plans which have been pre planned for us so we know where we are from one week to the next. The hardest part is getting to site as we are not allowed to drive and have to catch a 6 hour train in my case.

The employer is very supportive and will help you with anything you require including mental health issues a time off. Also help if you have any other issues such as problems with courses and lack of understanding of subjects. managers and team leaders are very helpful but also other past apprentices are good to help you.

Support is in place however in my case I have to pay for a tutor as I struggle with the higher standard of maths and electrical elements such as equations etc. Obviously tutors are not cheap but this is what is required in order for me to pass the course then I do not mind.

I do not believe some of the things I am learning in university will benefit me in my end job role such as a business environment topic in university which is about profits and work force etc. I therefore do not believe this to be applicable to my job role as an engineer.

There are extra activities to undertake with my job role such as representing national grid in jobs fairs and showing others what a day with national grid is like working. I however haven't been able to attend these events as the course is so intense I quite simply haven't had time.

Yes

Very good company to work for and, look after you with regards to pay, pension and shares. however it is a very hard course as a higher apprentice and time management is key to succeeding. aswell as managing your university assignments, logbook and courses in eakring etc. other than that the joib is very good and the rewards can be great.

if applying for the higher apprenticeship make sure you are very up to speed with maths and electronic principles as the subjects expects you to know these before joining. the course gets intense very quickly and managing all of the things you have to do is very hard. lots of time and effort is put in out of hours including late nights revising