Manufacturing Engineer - Paint Review

For the first 12-14 months, all apprentices at the Halewood plant go to North West Training Council full-time. The organisation of the college is not good at all, but from what I've heard this is the case at any college. I have recently started full-time in the plant where i am part a department that concentrates on projects that improve the facility.

There are various modules at college that address all aspects of practical engineering, they included: welding, electrical installation, turning, milling, electronics, PLCs. You also spend one day per week doing an HNC qualification that covers the theory of this, but if you have already done A-levels this is a step down in difficulty

College is good but can get monotonous and boring but since starting in the factory I have thoroughly enjoyed the role. It is important that you have the confidence to ask any questions that you are not sure about, and pretty much anyone that you ask will be happy to help you.

We spend quite a lot of time not knowing what the next step in the apprenticeship is - we were given about 5 different dates that we would be starting in the factory, this was largely the college's fault. In the first year communication between yourself and the company isn't ideal as you dont have access to work email

If there are any problems I know exactly who I need to contact and it usually gets sorted quickly. however there is the issue that in the first year, it can be difficult to contact these people whilst you have no access to work email and the opposite is also true.

I personally have had no problems as I am a relatively independent learner but some peers have had significant problems. Some of the quality of training is great, some terrible depending on the tutor. Tensions between training staff and the apprentices can get high if there are personality clashes. a

It is good to get hands-on practical experience of different engineering related activities at college as it can be hard to get through previous work experience during school, however many of the modules I completed at college will never be applicable to my day-to-day work. I understand that the modules will be relevant to my peers, it just depends on what job they go into.

Halewood seems to be a satellite plant that seems to get left out of many of the extra curricular activities that are based down in the midlands - which is understandable. However, if you make friends with similar interests at work you can organise things independently. Not much is organised by the company though

Yes

You gain lots experience during the apprenticeship and also get 4 different qualifications (including a degree from warwick uni). The combination of these will set you up for life and give you good opportunities for the future. The salary and benefits that you get are also really good compared to other apprenticeships

Be confident in the group activities during the assessment centre, make sure you voice your opinions. Make sure that you can show a genuine interest in engineering and give evidence of this. Learn about the company values and show how you can follow these with examples from your day to day life