Project Engineer Review

Consists of problem solving, technical decision making, liaising with customers & various other departments. Day to day I write work instructions for production, organise materials, documents (such as procedures & drawings) for them to work to & ensure the system is safe to work on.

I have learnt lots of new skills such as interpreting drawings, quick decision making & engineering principles. In general I have become a more confident person & interaction with different departments is easy.

I have enjoyed being on different placements, as it gave me knowledge of different aspects of work and has improved my work overall as a PE. But, not was I always learning or busy, due to not having a plan in place for development on each placement.

The structure is standard, we do placements every 4 months and then move on until we are in our 4th year or find a place that wants to keep us. I have had only 1 placement which had a structured development plan for me.

The work support in general is good, mentors/seniors have always been very good with helping me with issues. The training team support is mediocre, we have reviews every 12 weeks to check on our development. I have had the chance to do a few extra qualifications.

The training team is supportive with the in-work NVQ, having often back & forths with NVQ issues. Most placements allowed me to work on it during work time if necessary. There was some issues with the BTEC, which did get solved quite quickly. Good support.

The BTEC I worked towards helped give me technical & practical knowledge for general engineering. Such as materials, mechanical & electrical principles & practical fabricating skills. The NVQ was more role specific, and helped giving a wide view on Project Engineering.

Yes there are extra curricular activities. Lots of various networks for employees to get involved in, such as the young professionals network. There is often events that people are encouraged to join, that are accessible to everyone.

Yes

The apprenticeship gave me good level qualifications, made me more confident person & competent to work issues. The opportunities are vast and Babcock has been a good employer so far. I would recommend to anyone who wants to get into engineering.

Finish all work in plenty of time to avoid panic or confusion. Listen to everything & try to learn as much as possible. The qualifications are beneficial to your role so do them to the best of you ability, it will help eventually with various other opportunities.