Trainee Test Bench Engineer Review

On a day to day basis I test and repair items that are returned to our workshop that are faulty from the motorway. This includes but isn't limited to items such as character modules in signs, CCTV cameras and the emergency response telephones that you see on the side of the road. I am mainly responsible for keeping the repair time for waiting items down to a minimum but I have also been tasked with stripping out decommissioned assets to see if any parts can be used for spares. I am in contact with my line manager and lead engineer on a daily basis to understand the needs of our client and how I can be a part of the solution to the problems that we face.

Yes I have. My ability to understand a test procedure and how to implement it has been developed a lot. In this role, I know understand more about how the electrical components work together to make an electrical item and then how those electrical items then fit together to make a sign for example. I also have been given training in health and safety, excel and I have also attained an ECS card on the job. Which means I am eligible to work out on the motorways which I did for a few weeks in 2019.

I do enjoy it. It is great to have a company give you the support you require to achieve the goals that I want for myself. I currently spend two days at university and then spend the remainder of the week at work. Which is a very good split for me at the moment. The rest of the year whilst not in term time I spend 5 days a week doing my job.

It is structured quite well. From telent's perspective, I find that they do a lot of background work to make sure that I am just able to go and perform at my best in the university environment. My manager and the apprenticeship manager are always at the end of the phone if I need some help with something and I always feel like issues are resolved when I bring them up. I find sometimes that the university that I attend can be a little bit disorganised with how they present things to us but that 's a minor issue with the university rather than telent the company.

Lots of support. Honestly, I couldn't ask for better support at the moment. My manager and the apprenticeship manager are always available to speak to, to make sure that I am doing well and also address any problems that I am having. From my perspective it makes it so much easier to complete the work required for this apprenticeship because I know that I have that support.

The training provider's support in my apprenticeship is good. We have a lot of meetings and contact with them to determine if we need anything else to succeed at the apprenticeship. I sometimes get frustrated that we have to repeatedly ask for things to be done but other than that the support is there. The lecturer's are definitely helpful. They understand my situation and try to accommodate it whenever they can.

The degree I am doing is in electrical engineering and electronics. So it is extremely relevant to my job as a test bench engineer. It has already helped me understand why some of the items we receive in for repair work in certain ways and has given me ideas of how to test and repair them.

Yes, there are always articles or notifications on our share point about events etc going on. I work away from any of the main sites so it is difficult for me to attend events but If I did work at one of our main sites, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with extra curricular activities.

Yes

I don't think I've worked anywhere that care so much for your experience as an employee. There is obviously a need to do work but there is no pressure from anyone to complete it. Which actually suits me because of this freedom I work harder to get things done quicker. As I have also suggested above the support I receive from telent is fantastic and everyone I have met that works for the company is really nice, friendly and encouraging of everyone so we can build a better company.

Do it. Honestly, If you are the right fit for telent, you won't regret it for a single moment. I have been working here for two and a half years and yes it has it's ups and downs but working for telent has genuinely been one of the best decisions I have ever made for my working life.