Automation Engineer Apprentice Review

At work you will be tasked with completing different tasks and projects that occur in Amazon. You will work mostly towards implimenting new ideas or optomising the equipment already existing on site. You will work mostly with conveyors, barcode scanners and SCADA. Each project you are given will help you persue your career further.

During the first year of the apprenticeship you will attend college. Here you will learn the basics which will provide a useful basis for the whole apprenticeship. You will learn to use hand and machine tools to provide solutions. At work you will learn many softwares from many different companies like Siemens, Allen Bradley, Cognex, Bihl Wiedemann ETC.

I think the college work is very enjoyable and challenging but is doable if you work hard. The work side of the apprenticeship can be enjoyable when you are given a task you are interested in and is relevant to the job. I think most of the struggle for the apprenticeship is organisation on the companies side.

The structure of the apprenticesship is organised on the side of our education and from a provider point of view. The company istelf has alot to do with the organisiation of the apprenticeship with getting us prepared for our end pioint assessment (Passing the apprenticeship). For this I feel the company has let us down which from the start was evident where by the engineers we were going to work with onsite didnt know we they had apprentices until we said 'Hello'! (We had work at Amazon for 10 Months Prior)

The support at work is great even though they are nothing to do with the apprentice ship they are the only ones helping us to pass. The same can be said for the traing provider. The apprenticeship managerment inside the company can be imporvement with little to no contact from the apprenticeship managers occured.

The traing provide supports us in anyway possible (within reason) . If we ever had any queries they were happy to help and would fill us with confidence. They listen to our complains and actioned on these where they even went on to moving away from a college due to its poor learning standards to make the apprenticeship better for us.

I feel like the qualifications, that I am gaining through my training provider, are helping me at work and are definatly building a good foundation for my career. The units we are studying are helping me to understand the company better and the techniques which are used at work that allow for the company to run smoothly.

They are no extra circular activites offered through work although they will support and encourage any extra-curricular activities outside of work that are going to help you within the apprenticeship and will offer some representation of the brand. The company do join apprenticeship events where they somethines ask people to join but this is a select few.

Yes

The pay is amazing and the qualifications you will acheive at the end of the apprenticeship will make it all work while. You will get to spend some time away from work, in the first year, in another city which is enjoyable where you will turn your apprentice colegues into friends.

When applying you should make sure that your CV is full of interesting experiences (Work experience is a great commodity). Your grades are important as to get on to the HNC course you will need the equivalent of 2 C's at A Level. The Process after the application will be some online tests (Maths and English), and an activity day (Group activity, Individual Activity, Tests and Interview).