Science Manufacturing Apprentice Review

Evryday is a different day, but typically what happens is you have a morning meeting to start the day off and at the meeting mangers and co-workers talk about the last 24hrs and what work has been carried out etc. Then after you may start to get involved with the tankers which have arrived and tend to be raw materials or waste collection.

Since join Syngenta I would say that have developed my problem solving skills as I have learnt new techniques and methods to make solving a problem simpler. I would say that my communications skills have also improved since starting my apprenticeship as you work with a range of different people and you learn to adapt your communication methods accordingly.

I fully enjoy my apprenticeship programme and feel proud to be a part of Syngenta. I enjoy the fat I work for a company whose aim is to try and feed the world and I believe working for them makes you share that sense of achievement. I also enjoy the fact that the programme allows you to go and spend time in all of the different departs at Syngenta Huddersfield and you learnt to appreciate different job roles.

The programme is very well structured and I believe this is to do with having two apprentice mangers who are very well organised and put together a yearlong plan so that you know where you are going and how long for. Also the apprentice mangers organise any academic work such as college and NVQ.

I receive lots of support from a my employer and as mentioned before we have apprentice mangers which are very supportive and we have 6 weekly review meetings to check were we are at and any feedback to be shared and discussed. Also they are always available to have a chat or discuss any problems or issues.

Kirklees College does its best to provide us with the technical qualification we need but like all places improvements could be made. Our NVQ assessor is always well papered and fully supportive so we feel comfortable asking any questions and discussing any work. We have NVQ assessment every month and programme reviews every 6 weeks.

I feel good that we go to college to get a related qualification and a lot of what we learn is related to our job and what we do on a daily basis. As the course has been improved over the years it is very well suited to what we need to know and learn.

There are always extra activities to get involved with at work, for examples we run an event at work where we show around school kids to our labs and plants to show them how science in a classroom applies to real life. Also I have attended an award event with Syngenta at London which was fun and I felt proud to represent Syngenta when I went to the awards evening.

Yes

Because it is a very good and caring company and the programme is very well structured and after you finished your programme you can have a long term rewarding career. Also it has a welcoming environment and intelligent people working in it. Also it always encourages people to move roles to better positions which is ideal for people wanting a job where they can move up.

Attend the open days and shows interest and try to ask as lots of questions to gain more knowledge of the company and don’t be sacred to ask for any advice or tips off the employers or other apprentices. Also have examples of when you have used different skills so that you are ready to tell them in your interview.