Technical Engineering Apprentice Review

I am a software developer who specialises with various languages but am able to work proficiently using technology from a wide variety of disciplines including devops and front & backend development. The company also delivers solutions with a wider variety of different technologies and infrastructure which I am also exposed to and have the option to use.

While doing the apprenticeship, we are expected to get our degree from the university that we attend as part of the course but it is the on the job experiences and networking that leads to the bulk of my learning. Whether in soft skills or technical, it is learning in the situation that is more effective than a classroom can ever be

The company has a friendly culture and even more so for the people in my project. Although Covid has limited some of the interactions which we would otherwise be having, the employees still self organise to enjoy time together. The learning and work that we do also holds our interest very well.

Doing a week's worth of university in 1 day was never going to be easy but it is managable thanks to the flexibility of the workplace. Some of the university modules try to integrate with the workplace for an improved experience but I have found these to be my least favourite modules to work through.

As much as I need. Although I do not usually use it, we are at liberty to request as much training time away from project work as we need and within the company, our line managers and mentors ensure that we always have someone to move the obstacles that are in the way.

Although the university does offer tutor services, it's always on days that are not the university day and as such, are inaccessible. The lecturers themselves are rarely proficient at explaining topics and so the majority of the work we turn in has been self taught. Although the goal of universities is to teach the skill of being able to learn, this is still not ideal.

There is an overlap in the knowledge that I use at work and the knowledge that I get assessed on at the university but instead of the intended scenario of using university knowledge in the workplace, I find that often I learn something in the workplace before it's (badly) explained at university a few months later.

Of course covid does limit this but otherwise, a definate yes. From annual internal sport competitions to clubs and inter-company conferences with other early careers prefessionals, we are offered plenty of oppertunities to grow our circles and have fun while working. Anything that someone enjoys doing as a hobby can be turned into a club and shared with others from the company.

Yes

Much better than just university. You get to learn on the job (which is more effective) while getting industry experience and growing your professional network. On top of this, you also get paid for your time so that when you graduate, you have no debt and have been living with a healthy wage.

Of course your technical ability needs to be very high to work here but your people skills need to be high too. As part of the recruitment process, candidates are assessed by peers to answer the question of: "if they started working here, would you be happy to work with them?"