Manufacturing Apprentice Review

Manufacturing of medicines, working in dermatologicals and liquid inhalations. Process involves moving from dispensing raw materials and active ingredients using balances to specified weights through to batch manufacture using pharmaceutical plant then to filling of product into vials/tubes. Currently work in a shift pattern of 06:00-14:00 then the following week 14:00-22:00. I find the shifts fine to live with.

Yes, developed accuracy and instruction following. Work is extremely regulated so ability to closely follow instructions laid out in batch manufacture documents is a highly used skill that I have developed accordingly. Developed communication as working together as part of close knit teams is a vital part of this role, clear communication is necessary for fault finding and ensuring that everyone is on the same page as to how the manufacture is progressing.

It is enjoyable to be part of the workforce and feel you are having an impact. Gives satisfaction knowing that you are producing important prodcuts that have a real impact on peoples quality of life. Sometimes too much being told to just watch as training however, some areas find it difficult to find time to properly train you.

Programme initially seems to be well organised with a fairly intense interview and selection process owing to the large number of applicants. Once into the factory though your structure is entirely dependant on who your individual manager is. Their is a site apprentice lead but they are rarely involved once you start working. Often you are moved into an area and the staff there are not expecting you and thus have no cohesive training plan prepared, leading to you almost feeling awkward to be there stepping on their toes.

GSK are very supportive of you carrying out your studies and apprentices have far more freedom than most other staff on site to attend events that will support their development. As a rule, apprentices are not assigned to individual teams and their salary is paid for from a central budget so apprentices ahould not be regarded as essential to any team. However some teams disregard this and apprentices can end up being used to simply plug gaps in the workforce which is not ideal.

Gen2 appear to be fairly supportive with for the first year of the apprenticeship coming onto site once a week to deliver the training course. Once into the second year though you have to make the trip to Ulverston for one week out of every four for your training. The tutors I have encountered so far are helpful and do not treat you like children at school.

The qualification so far seems to have a fairly loose tie in to my role, I learn far more on the job than in the classroom about what is applicable to how I need to do my job. Some areas are relevant but it feels that most of the qualification is based more around maths and science that is more engineering based.

Yes GSK have apprentice organised social events that are well attended. These are not so much organised by the company as they are by the apprentices themselves. GSK also has a football team that you can get involved with and an affiliated social club with snooker and a gym which you gain membership to.

Yes

The job is decently paid especially for the area with a good commitment to the apprentice programme. The prospect of a long career is good at the company with opportunities for development once out of your apprenticeship. The work can be rewarding with knowing you are making a difference with this field of manufacturing.

Read about their values and expectations and try to reference these in everything throughout your application. Knowledge of basic industry terms such as GMP and ALCOA will help you to stand out amongst the crowd by showing you have done your research. Make sure you have examples on hand to back up any positives things you can say you've done in terms of team leading or achieving an objective.