Electronic Apprentice Review

As I am on placement, on a day to day basis I carry out work on a variety of assets. The work varies however it is mostly stripping down, repairing or investigative work. We carry out a lot of work that involves soldering, fault finding, reverse engineering and much more. As I am an apprentice, I work alongside qualified engineers, learning from them and developing new skills.

Being a qualified mechanical engineer and machinist and making the switch to an electronics apprenticeship I have developed a whole host of new skills. I have learnt how to design and build circuits as well as modify existing one. I have learnt how to carry out fault finding and repair work as well as developing a more in depth knowledge of the assets we work on.

I have really enjoyed the work I have been doing. Since leaving the training center and coming back to company on placement I have met lots of new people, got involved in various different activities and continuously develop my skills, knowledge, and abilities. The work I do is so diverse that it never gets boring and much of the work we do has the potential to save lives.

The training provider was extremely disorganized through no fault of Dstl. There for I will base my answer from when we came back to company. At this point the organisation of the programme is great. We understood what was needed of us. Our teams provide us with enough time to carryout right ups and balance our personal lives with our work life.

Dstl is a very supportive employer with a variety of support networks available such as the employee assistance programme (there to help employees with a variety of issues), STEPS (a programme designed to help new starters integrate into the company and make friends), Mental Health Advocates (there to help people suffering mental health) to name a few. I myself became so engaged with the STEPS programme that I volunteered and became a STEPS Representative to help new starters integrate quicker and make new friends.

We have regular check ins every few months with our assessor from the training provider. However this is about it. Due to the amount of apprentices the provider look after it can be difficult to get in contact with them as there aren't many assessors available, therefore assessors are almost always away on visits to sites across the country.

I feel that the training provider doesn't provide as much relevant training for the sort of placements we have available to us. Most of the practical knowledge I have developed has been from working on placement. We learnt a lot of knowledge but most of it is also irrelevant or outdated.

Theres a whole host of activities, social events and professional networking events available whilst working at dstl. STEPS organise lots of different social events such as regular pub quiz nights, trips away, development trips to different sites. Dstl also has a football team, cricket team and enter into the MoD sports day event.

Yes

After working in industry, I found most work stressful and the company i work for didn't treat employees well. Coming to Dstl I enjoy turning up to work and take pride in the work I do. The culture here is amazing and there are plenty of benefits to working here including an outstanding pension scheme and flex working.

Most people find the application interviews daunting. The best thing to do is be completely honest with your interviewer. When you start at Dstl, dont be afraid to ask questions or ask for advice. You should also volunteer for as much as possible to get your name out there and build up a good reputation.