Apprentice Civil Engineer Review

I am currently working in the rail division. My role involves completing daily site diaries and communicating with the site team, writing task briefs and ITP'S, helping the site team with the planning for possessions, and assisting the engineers with setting out - taking setting out points and putting them into a 3D model and vice versa. I have also completed my PTS qualification and a your safety is my safety course.

My communication skills have greatly improved due to the number of people I interact with, which has also boosted my confidence. Completing my PTS training has given me a broad understanding of working on the rail, and being part of a blockade allowed me to improve my organisation skills, and start to develop my management skills by overseeing such a vast number of different operations running at the same time.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the programme and I feel that I have been supported and encouraged during both college and site placements. I work with a great team that ensure there is variation in the work I'm doing to allow me to get a well rounded experience, improving my development. They spend time explaining technical things I may not otherwise understand, and got me up to date very quickly, as I joined the project late.

I feel that the programme is well organised with set dates for college and placement blocks and that this is managed as well. We are given things to achieve in our first year, however this is quite open, allowing us to tailor our experience while still achieving what we need.

I receive a lot of support from my employer and feel that they have my best interests in mind. I am given the opportunity to explore things by myself, however guidance is always there if I need it. I am always encouraged to ask questions and everyone I work with is willing to explain new things to me.

I do feel supported by my training provider and believe I am given the opportunity to ask for help and support if needed, however there can be a lot of pressure to get everything done due to having a restricted time frame and this was hard to manage at first.

I have completed the core modules of the qualification and I feel that this has helped me in my role by giving me a more in depth understanding of basic principles and management techniques in the industry. This helped me understand why certain things are done in a particular what effect this will have on a project.

The division I am working in often hold social events for us to bond outside of working hours, and a number of people play sports. A lot of professional networking events are held within the company which gives you the opportunity to meet new people, which is particularly important being so new to the company.

Yes

BAM Nuttall put a lot of time and effort into apprentices, making sure they are achieving personal and professional goals, but are also happy while doing so. While there is a set programme, apprentices do get a lot of say when it comes to placements in order to find somewhere they will benefit from the most and have the most interest in.

Be confident and show your true self, come with a willingness to learn and have an understanding of what you want to get from the company, not just what you can give it. Having a passion for the industry is really important, and the application process allows you to demonstrate this and will be picked up on.