Manufacturing Science Apprentice Review

My role involves the manufacture of Oral Solid Dose products (e.g. tablets) for development use or for use in clinical trials. The day starts with a team meeting to discuss the day ahead, and then typically involves going into plant to begin set up of equipment or to start manufacture.

I've learnt a lot around regulatory compliance, record keeping and data integrity. I've also learnt how to operate several pieces of equipment used in the tablet manufacture process stream. Through experience i've also learnt to troubleshoot issues when they come up during manufacture. The biggest fault in this apprenticeship is the opportunities for development are minimal. It has not been a priority over the course of my apprenticeship and i have not learned as much as i'd have liked.

I enjoy working with the team i am in, they're a good bunch of people and always up for a laugh. The programme has been less enjoyable over the past year, eighteen months than it was. Due to Covid, the opportunities for development have been stopped and the work has become less enjoyable.

Eighty percent of my work is scheduled and tracked in a team resource tracker spreadsheet. The apprenticeship programme is not as well organised. Opportunities for development are rarely planned in advance, however the team leader makes sure if one springs up that we know about and asks if we want to do it. Unfortunately we aren't always able to take the opportunity due to workload.

The support received from the employer is good. I have monthly one to one catch ups with my manger at a minimum and often we catch up fortnightly. All apprentices also have a quarterly meeting with the apprentice HR lead who is there to talk to, answer any questions etc.

The study guides provided by the training provider for my course are not ideal. They don't often contain the information you want or need and while the university library has a decent selection of online textbooks, these are often only very general and so looking for information on more detailed modules is difficult. We have quarterly catch ups with a representative from the uni to track progress and discuss any issues or needs.

The qualification associated with my apprenticeship is not exactly relevant to my job role. There is very little chemistry that i see in my job role on a regular basis and so it is difficult to use learnings from my course in my job. The course has however taught skills such as data analysis and project management which have both come in handy in my job role.

This part of work has taken a huge knock due to Covid but there were activities before covid and now restrictions are being eased, some are starting to return. The site has a social club attached to it which runs a saturday league fottball team. There is also a five a side football session on tuesday nights.

No

I wouldn't recommend GSK to a friend because the opportunities for development aren't as available as i think they could be and there is more of a focus on getting the team performance than on employee wellbeing and development. There are good points to the company. In my case, i work in a good friendly team of operators, there are good social events for apprentices.

Research the company and the job role before applying. Speak to someone in the industry to try and get an idea of the reality of the job, not just what the company are advertising. Be honest in your application and don't arrive at the interview or your first day thinking you know more than anyone else. Take every opportunity that comes your way.