E&I Apprentice Review

I am an apprentice training to be an electrical and instrumentation technician within gas transmission. I am currently in my final year of the apprenticeship scheme which is four years in total. On site my role is to maintain the safety, integrity and effective operations of the plant and equipment through different types of maintenance and tasks. As well as this I spend time at college to complete my HNC qualification in electrical engineering, while also carrying out training courses at the Centre to enhance my competence, knowledge and skills.

I feel that my confidence has grown over the past 3 years, this would be down to learning new social skills from meeting new people within the business and working as part of a team on site and at the training Centre. I have also gained a large amount of knowledge and skills within the apprenticeship which allow me to carry out my job safely.

I have always enjoyed the programme. I look forward to my future and see the end goal of completing the apprenticeship and becoming a fully qualified technician. It is something I have always wanted to achieve, and I feel grateful that I am working within a company I am happy in and a role that I thoroughly enjoy. So far it has been a great experience and I look forward to what other experiences have yet to come in my working career.

My programme has always been well structured. At the start of every year we would get a timetable of where we would be, although this may change we were always told a few weeks or months in advance. With the unexpected situation we are in due to COVID-19 this has been different with the planning. The training centre had been closed for some time and college is done virtually. I am fortunate that I have never had to stop working, I have been on site more than I normally would which has benefitted me in many ways. I have been involved in tasks I may have missed before from being in England for training. This has helped me improve my confidence and gain more experience within my role.

I have a lot of support around me during my apprenticeship which includes my line manager, mentor, programme manager and other colleagues that I work with on a daily basis who are either technicians or supervisors. I am very fortunate to have a mentor on site with me and help to train me as well as other technicians. They always react kindly and helpful towards me if I have any questions or need any support.

The academy has always helped and offered support throughout the programme. Whenever there has been any worries or concerns we always get a helpful response on how it could be resolved or improved. The academy reach out and regularly ask for any updates on how we are getting on. This is also done through reviews with our programme manager.

The training courses are all relevant to my role as they allow me to be competent in carrying out certain tasks or being able to use certain tools and equipment to carry out my job safely. The qualification helps me to carry out the various tasks on a daily basis and it makes sure I have the knowledge behind it to understand what I am doing. It also makes me fully aware of my roles and responsibilities within my job.

Extra-curricular activities I have been involved in is mainly charity support events such as children in need. This is where everyone comes together every year to find ways to raise money and make a donation. I have also been involved in new candidates joining the apprenticeship scheme. This was beneficial for them as they had questions about the programme that I was able to help and answer. I know that there are many other events offered to me via email.

Yes

I would definitely recommend my organisation to a friend. National grid so far has been a really great experience, I wouldn’t change anything about it. I am thankful that I was given this opportunity and that I chose to follow this career path. It has allowed me to grow as a person and has set up my career.

At first it may seem a little overwhelming the thought of being away for training or college at certain points throughout the programme, but it is definitely worth it. This sets up your career, you meet new people, travel to places you’ve never been before, and you learn while also getting experience on site. My advice would be to take as much out of the experience as possible and enjoy the learning. Before the assessment centre I would recommend practicing hand skills, as it is beneficial to have previous experience with tools and equipment.