Leather Covering Apprentice Review

Day to day my jobrole involves shadowing associates in different areas of the factory and offices and spending some time learning their job roles. We also get two days a week to spend at college doing off the job training in a specialized trade, for us this is furniture upholstery.

While on my apprenticeship i have learnt the skills of upholstery and covering, while also developing my existing sewing skill. My job role has also allowed me to heavily improve on my people and communication skills while increasing my confidence. Another great skill it has taught me is problem solving.

I enjoy my programme a lot as you are able to learn a lot of new skills and experience working without a lot of the pressure of being a fully trained employee, eliminating the stress you could feel from the role. There are a lot of boring parts of the job and you can be put into areas that you don't enjoy but you get a lot of flexibility with what placements you want to do.

the structure of my program can be a bit unorganized sometimes as you are constantly working under new people who may not know completely how the apprenticeship works or what you should be doing, this can be difficult when you have apprentice commitments that interfere with your placement. There is also a bit of an information delay and things are changed quite frequently and quite suddenly so you have to be prepared for this. However this is improving

I receive a lot of support from my employer. Queries are always answered and messages are replied to quickly. My employer is always friendly and understanding with both work and personal issues. You can also really tell they are invested in making the apprenticeship as good as it can be.

It has been a bit of a struggle to receive adequate support from my training provider as our course has just changed examiners and there was a long period of time where our teacher was trying to figure out the course requirements, so some of the time it felt like the small projects and assignments we did were for nothing. I largely relied on my work place to assist with my college work

I don't really feel like my college course assists me in my role at work and this is mainly through no fault of the college. My job role is quite specific and there is not a course near by that teaches car interior upholstery or covering so it feels like we had to settle for the next best thing.

I have heard there are some sports teams and networking events available at my work place however i am not sure how to find these and have never been involved. there are some training courses but there never seems to be any space even if you apply right away so this can be frustrating when you want to get involved in something.

Yes

I feel like it is a great experience to have even if you are not incredibly interested in the motor industry as there are so many different skills you can learn. i love how flexible the apprenticeship is and how i can tailor it to my interests and want i want to get out of it.

I would advise potential employees that you must register your interest in the company early, around January/February and do not get disheartened if you do not hear anything for a while as the process can take a while. I would also advise to research the company before applying and make sure you have something you can talk about. Also be prepared with lots of examples from your previous jobs as the interview asks a lot of questions about examples of things you have done before.