Chemistry Degree Apprentice Review

I work with other team members on different projects which could involve creating new products or improving existing ones. A lot of my time is spent working in the lab formulating products and carrying out measurements to assess the stability of my formulations, I also carry out lots of measures on different raw materials in order to determine their suitability as an active. A lot of my work has to be written up carefully so I can go back and look at it and I often have to present what I have done and found to managers and project teams.

I have gained a much better command of Microsoft excel because it is central to most tasks in my job. I have developed my presentation skills, and whilst I am still nervous about presenting I am still better at delivering presentations than I used to. I have learnt how to use lots of different software packages that allow me to use different pieces of lab kit and produce raw data, and some that allow me to analyse and visualise data.

I enjoy being able to study with no debt whilst earning money and gaining experience in work-I think it is invaluable. I like the versatility of my job because no two days are the same, as new challenges always crop up with formulations and methods so you have to work to solve them. I also enjoy how many people I get to meet in such a short amount of time through my rotations. By rotating department every year I am able to meet and establish good working relationships with a range of people from across the site which is very useful.

The structure has been organised quite well from the learning perspective because they have had apprentices for many years and have good links with both the college and the university that we attend so things run smoothly. I don't think our time in work is structured as well though because we aren't given a clear development plan when we arrive in each new department and it is only recently that manager have been told to give us work targets to achieve during our stay in their department. I have also found that a lot of the time it has been up to me to find and push to be given work otherwise I would have been left to sit with nothing.

There is very little academic support within work because they see it as your job to keep on top of your studies. If you really are struggling or have failed an exam it is possible to get around an hour with someone but people generally don't like taking time out of their busy schedules as helping apprentices isn't in their targets. You don't get a very good induction into your group a lot of the time and you can feel quite isolated and fumbling around for the first month or two whilst you find your feet.

Not loads because the teaching style at university is very much centred around independent learning. You tend to be given lectures which are just powerpoint presentations where you take down notes and then every other week you get given a set of questions on the material to answer and a tutorial to cover where you have gone right/wrong which is quite useful because the questions are often similar to those on the exam. If there is time lecturers will put on a couple of revision lectures.

I think I could do my role without a chemistry degree because I don't feel like I'm any more lacking than others who work here with degrees-they have more knowledge simply from having more experience on the job rather than anything coming directly from their studies. Sometimes things that I have learnt about molecules and functional groups in university has helped me to understand things in work faster than I may have been able to without that prior knowledge. The lab experience I gained in university is very helpful to working in the lab at work.

Yes, there are lots of opportunities within work because our employer has a heavy focus on employee wellbeing. There is a range of extra curricular activities such as arts, choir, football, pool and running-some of these are done after work but some are also done at lunch times because we are able to take extended lunches and start work earlier/finish later. There are often lots of challenges set up on site such as easter bunny hunts and bake sales that people can get involved in and work often set up workshops you can book on to for your professional development.

Yes

It has a very nice working culture and it is different to a lot of other work environments. No two days are the same so it keeps things nice and interesting. You have a lot of freedom within work and you can manage your own time as you like as long as you meet deadlines and targets. It's also a very flexible employer where you can have flexi time allowing you to take time needed for important appointments or even a break without taking extra holiday days.

Make sure you read up about the company. You need to know its values and what it stands for and try to incorporate these values into your interview. Choose a couple of brands that you like and be prepared to explain why you like them, and think about the brand's purpose and why you like that so much. Have a consumer head on when in your interview because you will be asked technical questions, and Unilever are market research led-the consumer comes first.