Apprentice Site Engineer Review

Being a Site Engineer I am based at the site office everyday. I then go out on site for inspections of the job throughout the day and if any of the operatives need additional information. I interpret drawings and relay the information to the site team. I use setting out equipment such as the total station to mark points or lines for the operatives to work to. I assist with tracking the progress of the job. I also assist with writing permits and activity plans. Many more items also, every day is different!

I have been able to use the knowledge that i learnt during the first college block on site and then take that further and develop these skills on site. For me communication skills have improved since starting on site and will continue to improve due to communicating with many different people in a variety of different job roles. BAM have also put me on training course to improve skills in certain areas, such as Level 2 utility location course using technical equipment.

The college block allows you to become a close group of apprentices due to being together at college in lectures but also living close for example for our college block we all stayed in the same hotel and got to know each other well. When on site the site team are together for a lot of time and everyone is friendly to have a chat with, even if its not about work. I enjoy being outdoors in all weathers so this is definitely the job for me!

I really think the best layout for an apprenticeship is through the block release, this allows you to focus solely on college and solely on site. It also allows you to get to know the other apprentices well right from the start of the programme. College and the induction days are very busy and there is a lot to fit in but i prefer being busy and not wasting time. There is opportunities to have a mentor as well as everyone on site who can help and guide you on a daily basis. The organisation so far has been good right from the start of my first interview with BAM.

BAM has many ways of accessing support, for example you can have a mentor, you can ask anyone on site, the dedicated apprenticeship team are always there to help and respond very quickly. The Bam website has dedicated areas for online learning and a documents library where you can find all the guidance and forms needed. Everyone at BAM is very helpful and have a positive attitude towards your development and any college assignments.

When at the college there are plenty of people to support you and your learning. BAM have a main advisor then, there is all the lectures to help you. BAM apprentices have access to everything at the college as a full time student would have. Completing any college work while on site is simple due to the Microsoft teams set up the college has and also their online learning platform. The tutors will assist you if needed but are generally very busy and might take while to reply, hence 9/10.

The majority of the content learnt at college helps you when on site, however some are more relevant than others, Surveying is one unit that will be very useful. The amount of college work you put into practice depends on the size and type of job your placed on. The qualification teaches you everything you need within civil engineering and is mainly theory based, not everything you need on a daily basis.

Due to site that i am working on being quite a small job with a small site team there hasn't been any extra curricular events or activities, i know on larger sites there is more to get involved in. For me i do lots of outdoors activities and sport in my own time so i enjoy doing that.

Yes

Overall BAM is a brilliant company to work for. The organisation and layout of the apprenticeship is very clear and the natural progression as you become more experienced as a civil engineer has a clear path. Everyone wants to help you and will accommodate your needs as much as possible. Having a job where you can be outside is very beneficial, from a mental health point of view for example. Once the jobs finished the sense of achievement when you can say 'i helped build that'.

The best tip is to be persistent and never give up. I applied and got an interview with BAM one year and was not successful, i worked in the industry for a year and applied again and got a place on the apprenticeship. I didn't succeed the first time but kept trying and improved my skills and its even more satisfying now that i am on the course. Never give up!