Apprentice Process Technician Review

I work on the Salbutamol Base stage and there is a new batch loaded every day so I am kept busy. I am focussing on learning one half of the stage at a time as it makes the learning more relevant. I am working through training records in hope of getting signed off on part of the process soon. There is roughly 1 hour of downtime a day and I utilise this to complete college work.

I have become more confident through this job. I have developed my communication skills and problem solving skills as working with old plant means there is often plant failures. I have a better knowledge of the plant and as a result of this I can confidently work my way through the process with only supervision.

I enjoy this programme very much now we are batching everyday as I can see how much I am learning daily. I was admittedly disheartened over the shutdown period for essential maintenance to be completed as I knew I was coming in to have very little work to do. This did drag on for a couple of months due to more faults being found and I felt myself doing pointless tasks just to fill the time, I felt I did not receive much guidance through this time and it is not in my nature to complain. I am much happier at work now that I am busy.

I think to begin with there was not a lot of structure as a new apprentice coordinator had just taken over the role at our site before I started. I think the college work is very structured and well organised. Although, the site training does not have much structure in terms of due dates set for tasks.

There are plenty of people to go to for help and everyone made me aware of this very early on. Everyone is approachable and I have monthly catch ups with my line manager but he often comes on plant and checks in. there is also a great apprentice community which yu can use for any help you need. My college assessor is very approachable and makes herself contactable at all times.

My instructor is very responsive, she gives a detailed explanation of the tasks she is setting and responds to emails if queries are made very quickly. she gave a very insightful induction before I began the course so I was confident when starting that I understood the criteria before starting tasks.

I have only just started my SVQ but I think it is very well tailored to be relevant to my job role. All of the tasks set relate to my day to day job and this means that if there is anything I am unsure of I can ask the process technicians that I work with for support.

At work I recently took part in an orange day where you take a day to give back to the community. We did some gardening in the community. We had an apprentice meet up in Stevenage early this year and our next planned one is to the lake district which has sadly been postponed due to COVID-19.

Yes

It is a very supportive workplace and everyone helps if you need it. The college work is very relevant to the job role and easy to complete using the online software. The work is very interesting and the batch reacts differently every day so it is important to stay alert.

The application is a lengthy process and requires a lot of work but it is very worthwhile! take your time completing the online questions and don't be too concerned about the video interview, it is a scary thought but you do not get to watch it back so just be yourself and be confident.