Manufacturing Data Science Apprentice Review

On a day to day basis I work with data which is collected in the manufacturing processes of the products or data which has been gathered in the labs. The data needs to be extracted from the right systems and I then analyse this data, to help make decisions and provide technical solutions. I get the chance to meet people from all around the business, learn about all the different data systems and lead projects.

Being an apprentice is all about developing yourself and in GSK they give you many opportunities to do so. Learning how to be in a professional environment and becoming more confident, while also studying for a degree, you pick up many skills which you wouldn't at university. You are always supported and have development goals every year.

This apprenticeship programme is very enjoyable, everyone at the company and in my team has been very welcoming and supportive. You also get treated as an employee of the company not just an apprentice. Studying for a degree whilst also working for a global company and earning money is a very rewarding feeling.

The programme is fairly well organised and structured. At first I felt as though I did not have as much information I as would have liked and I was also unaware of when I was starting the university course. However, once I started I was given a lot of information about the course and the structure of it.

My employer offers a lot of support in many different aspects. As an apprentice you get given many different development opportunities, an example of this is a week in the lake district where we get to meet all of the GSK apprentices and practice communication, team work and resilience skills, which we can take back into the workplace.

As much of my course is based on distance learning it is important that the training provider offers good support, which they have done. We have been given a personal tutor from the university who quickly gets back to me when I email any queries. There is also a good online system which we use to access our work and ask questions.

I am only on my second module of my first year so I only have a limited amount of knowledge which I can apply to my role. So far some of what I have learnt through the training provider I have no been able to apply to the role I have in my team, but there are opportunities to go to different teams to apply this.

At this site there is access to a gym and a sports club which offer many different activities which you can get involved in. Also as there is a group of apprentices in the site there are often apprentice socials which we try to get everyone involved in, as well as larger events with apprentices and industrial placements from other GSK sites.

Yes

I would highly recommend doing an apprenticeship at GSK down to the fact that it is a very supportive company who encourage everyone's individual development. Doing a degree apprenticeship means that you get experience working in a large company alongside studying for a degree, without getting into any debt.

Anyone who applies to GSK just needs to be themselves and show their values, beliefs and expectations. Also be curious and ask questions to show that you are interested and want to help the company to produce high quality products for the patients. You need to be willing to learn and develop skills, knowledge and behaviours that you may or may not already have.