Electronic Engineering Apprentice Review

As an Electronic Engineering apprentice my day-to-day role involves lots of practical work in soldering and the circuit board design process, but also lots of theory work in understanding the circuits, and the individual components and how they work in conjunction with each other in order to get the desired results.

One of the biggest skills I have learned whislt on the apprenticeship is how to compare multiple options of a solution. Electronics often has many way to solve a problem, and knowing how to objectively score and decide is a useful skill! I have also honed some pre-exisiting skills such as soldering, and my general understanding is a lot better.

I feel STFC has one of the better apprenticeship programs due to the nature of the site, and the fact that the placements rotate. I have friends in apprenticeships that stay in one department for three years, whereas we can rotate from Particle accelerator teams, to Laser facilities, and even the Space department.

The Structure of the program is excellent and is always open to feedback and improvement. That being said the scheme has been running for years sucessfuly and is incredibly well managed. a few year groups have been let down by poor structure of our training provider, but this is of no fault of STFC.

Employer support has been fantastic the whole way through the process. From application, through interview, and especially when starting the apprenticeship, there is always someone available to speak to, and placement supervisors and thier peers are incredibly supportive of the program as a lot of them have come through themselves.

whilst in center we were supported by the staff well, however our first year in college was marred by high staff turnover and multiple lockdowns, which made it very hard to learn practical subjects. it feels like the staff are having to work incredibly hard to make up for the lost time, and covering missing trainers, it often leaves times where feedback isnt recieved in a reasonable time. The Trainers that have stayed however are very supportive and asked us to get in touch if we need anything.

As mentioned above, we had a tough first year trying to learn practical subjects over zoom, especially in subjects some of the trainers weren't 100% confident in, however when we got to be in the workshops, thier knowledge was easily passed onto us, especially in regards to problem solving.

There are several activites to be involved with, these include sports teams, a weekly quiz, and a recreation society on site. There is also a very active Public engagement team you are able to get involved with, and they will help achieve STEM ambassador status if this is something you would like to look into.

Yes

As someone that is new to the Engineering sector, I have been made to feel incredibly welcomed, alot more than in previous industries I have worked. placement supervisors and managers here look to bring out the best in you and will set tasks appropriate to your skillset, after all the aim of the role is to improve yourself and assist in the advancement of science!

Whilst a lot of engineering reloves around the "Hard skills" such as milling, turning, electronics, etc... these are not pre-requisites, and can be taught! It's a lot more important to have a can-do attitude and be willing and enthusiastic to learn new skills that will help you to develop a future career in science!