Apprentice customer service engineer Review

I am an apprentice engineer for Siemens healthineers, this means I travel to hospital and fix equipment such as X-ray machines, CT machines or MRI machines. At the moment I am just learning about each individual machine before choosing one to focus in on in the future. I meet another engineer on site who will show me what to do and let me help in the appropriate situations. I also do one day of college a week while working towards a HNC at the end of the apprenticeship.

One new skill that I have learnt is how to communicate to with others through a external training course called SUBEC, this allowed me to get an insight on how i should communicate in the workplace with the customers, other engineers or my manager. I have learnt the basics of hospital equipment, such as how to take the covers off, change or replace parts inside the machines or just common services to make sure all the machines are running as they should be.

The work is really fulfilling as you know by fixing the machines people who need it most will be receiving medical care that could save their life. All the other engineers are really friendly and are a great help when you are getting started, they are all really knowledgeable and have years of experience in the field. The apprenticeship is great as you get to go to all these places almost never at the same places 2 days in a row and everyone at the company wants to see you succeed.

There was a good induction where i spent 3 days at the main Frimley branch getting set up on the laptop and phone that they provide, they also give a lot of training for you to get on with during the first week that you are at the company. They took me on a site visit to see what kind of things I would be doing. They have monthly catch-ups to make sure everything is ok and that they can answer any questions that I have. Overall i would say that my apprenticeship is very well structured.

I have been told i can get in touch with my manager anytime I need help or have an issue with anything, there are also monthly meetings with an internal Siemens healthineers employee who is in charge of keeping track of all apprentices all over the UK. Any issues that i have had have been sorted in a short period of time and allowed me to get on with my work and thrive in a supportive work environment

I have another monthly meeting with a training advisor who reinforces any knowledge that I have picked up and makes sure that i am moving in the right direction. This makes me feel supported as if i have any issues with my qualifications i can ask during the meetings and feel like they will deal with them to help benefit me the most. The training is enjoyable in parts but it is a lot of work to get through with going out to work during other days of the week and they don't always provide the longest deadlines.

I have gained a greater understanding of electrical systems and how they work and what to look out for in the working environment. Although some of the subjects at college such as hand fitting has no relevance to what i am doing at work and doesn't benefit me moving forwards. I have made sure to refer to my workplace as much as possible when completing my qualification as it will benefit me greater in the future when i am working in the field more.

There are a lot of company events such as Christmas parties or events, this December they have a comedy night for anyone to join over a teams meeting. They tend to have a few Christmas events, one for a party which is usually held in London and then smaller low key events which are sometimes more local and not as busy for those people who don't enjoy big events or if you aren't available on that day

Yes

They offer a great apprenticeship which leads on to getting a HNC qualification which is really useful if you choose to move on to a different company in the future. They have great benefits such as a company van, i got a ford fiesta, for apprentices along with a great starting salary which increases each year. Then when the apprenticeship is finished there is access to a company car and you will go onto a engineers wage.

One of the major things that i would say about applying for Siemens Healthineers is to just be yourself, it is a low pressure interview which they make you feel welcome. Talking about you previous experience and why you would be suited for an engineering role. One of the major opportunities that you get from Siemens is to travel to Germany for training, they also have training bases in America and China too. They have apprentices at the interview to tell you about what they do and what you can expect.