Apprentice Software Developer Review

I'm mostly involved with Node based application development. We build web applications to support the business. We have recently undertaken a huge project where we are rebuilding the entire application framework which means I'm getting involved with the building of an entire system, not just building web sites everyday.

Working with JavaScript is very rewarding as it is a very fast moving technology. What is the newest thing one day quickly becomes outdated. This is great as it really motivates you to keep your skills up to date in order to work with these new interesting technologies. As an apprentice, and this being my first job, I picked up a lot of skills that you gain very fast in the workplace; communications skills, timekeeping, etc.

My QA Training is perfect for the level I want to work at. It's a step further than my college knowledge so it's a nice challenge. Everything that I learn is very useful in the workplace and my future development both as a developer and an employee in general.

My program is broken down into 5 distinct modules which you work on during the course of your apprenticeship. These modules each have a week long course, and these are always very educational and engaging. After these modules there is then a project that tests your knowledge on the modules, followed by an interview to assess your ability.

Premier Foods is very supportive of someone in an Apprenticeship role. There are many opportunities available to you if you want to get involved in a particular area or are interested in a certain project. The 20% off the job time that is dedicated towards apprenticeship work is respected, and while working on my portfolio I would take Fridays as an Apprenticeship day.

You are assigned a skills coach that keeps track of your progress and any concerns that you have. A skills coach is extremely useful as it give you someone to work with while working on your portfolio who has a huge knowledge bank of potential evidence you can use to hit the marks.

All of the modules that you complete are very helpful to your role in the workplace. The knowledge that you gain from being taught by people from a business allows you to pick up on skills and technologies that people are actually using and it's not just all theoretical.

I have been to many events, hosted by AWS, IBM, MongoDB, etc. These opportunities are great as you get to see and discuss really interesting technologies and get a peek as to what is coming up soon that could disrupt the industry. Being able to talk with companies and developers that are leading the way is also very informative.

Yes

It's a great company to work at. You're given a lot of support when you first start your Apprenticeship and they nurture your progress without seeming overbearing. You're given many opportunities to improve your skills, not only as a developer, but as an employee in general. Again, they also respect the time that you need to study and work on your apprenticeship.

I think as long as you show yourself to be enthusiastic about the role that you're applying for, as well as able to demonstrate your knowledge in the area with examples of projects you've worked on in the past then you have a good chance. Even if you don't have much experience in the workplace, talking about projects that you've worked on in your free time is a great way to show motivation for your chosen career outside of just studies/work.