Assistant Technician Review

Overall, my role involves writing code and working with data on software and engineering projects. My day-to-day role depends on the range of projects I am working on. I have worked on web development projects, machine learning projects, advisory projects, transport projects and engineering software projects. Every project is a great opportunity to learn new skills.

Absolutely, I attend University once per week and enjoy learning new things. I also attend extra training course through the University such as soft skills and machine learning courses. I also attend internal training course on topics such as Working with Data, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and machine learning. There are lots of training opportunities.

I really enjoy my programme. I am well supported by my team and Arup has a great company culture. I am given the freedom to decide what I want to do and was allowed to pick my degree specialism. I am encouraged to follow my interests and work on projects where I can learn and apply new skills.

The programme is well structured. I am trusted to balance my work and University studies and communicate when I need more time to work on assignments. I am also given time for other training. My team is very accommodating and my development manager is fantastic. I feel very well supported in my role at Arup.

Arup is a fantastic employer for apprenticeships. I have a Development Manager who I speak to regularly and a Buddy who I can ask questions to. I can also get support from the Apprentice Champions, the People Team and other colleagues in my team and beyond. Support is easily accessible and people are always willing to help.

I have review meetings every quarter with my Skills Coach to discuss progress and my work. Outside of these meetings, my Skills Coach is easy to contact and is always wiling to help out when needed, The tutors at University are also very easy to contact and respond quickly. This has been very useful while working on University assignments.

I feel my qualification is helpful to my role although I have covered some of the content in previous qualifications (Level 3 Apprenticeship) and some of what is covered in the first year of the course is not really relevant to my role (e.g. Java). I expect that the course will be much more relevant to my role next year when I pick a specialism that aligns to my role.

There are some extra-curricular activities to get involved in at Arup but there were many more pre-Covid. There were monthly office social events which are slowly returning as well as team social events. There are also Community Engagement initiatives. I am a STEM Ambassador and promote STEM careers and Apprenticeships in schools.

Yes

Because Arup is a company full of fantastic people and career opportunities. Arup has a strong set of core values and is a people focussed business. The projects that Arup works on are varied, interesting and often require complex solutions. Arup is a great working environment that encourages personal development and really supports it's apprentices.

My advice would be to be genuine and be yourself. Talk about what interests you and why. You should be enthusiastic and show interest in what you are doing. Being passionate about your career is really important. I would also strongly advise that you research Arup projects and Arup's values.