Apprentice System Planning Engineer Review

I am training towards becoming a system planning engineer. My work is office based where I use an array of applications. Within system planning itself there are various paths. I have mostly worked on load estimates where I am learning to estimate future loads of connections using PI process book. I have also been adding new connections to the network working through a database checking against power on and adding them to PROMIS.

I have learnt how to use a wide range of software that previously did not for example sims, power on, Pi process book and more. My existing knowledge if using applications such as word and excel has greatly improved. My communication skills have also improved as in organising meetings and presenting reports and completed work.

The programme has been very enjoyable as I've made lots of friends on the course and at the company. Due to the college and office being in a different town to where I live it has enabled me to travel. I've enjoyed learning new skills and working as a team. I've enjoyed expanding my academic knowledge and functional work skills.

The programme isn't as well structured or organised as I'd have hoped. The college doesn't communicate much of anything meaning there are always issues with scheduling and we are not updated on changes. When in the office there doesn't seem to be a plan and in the case of my group sometimes we are set irrelevant work so that we have something to do when we should be learning more of the job.

Whenever we need information or help there is always somebody to ask in person or email where we will get immediate response. However where we are assigned with work we could have more teaching. But we are always able to ask anybody in the office anything and they are always happy to aid and support.

We are able to email or ask our lecturers whenever we have an issue. So far I haven't needed any assistance outside of class however I have emailed asking questions and dependant on the lecturer the response could be quick or extremely slow. The support is dependant on the lecturer where some have been very helpful where others not so much.

The majority of the content covered in college is completely irrelevant to the work we do in the office. Some of the content has been helpful knowing how components on the network function such as transformers however nothing directly aids the work we do. I feel the course is fully separate to the work and just gives us a qualification on the side.

Since working here we have had two meal events in which I was able to networked with others in the company and people from other offices. To my knowledge there are no direct extra-curricular activities, however we have been informed that the company would potentially cover events put on and they do support various things to be undertaken during work hours.

Yes

Working for SSE I have learnt lots of skills and knowledge towards electrical engineering. The company offers a huge range of jobs. Due to the company being large there are lots of offices so there would likely be one in reach of where you live. The company also offers a huge range of benefits. The main reason I would recommend the company is that lots of the jobs are scalable.

Research the company before applying, understand what the company does and why it is important. Include in your application anything relevant to the job that you are applying for like previous experiences. Explain why you are interested and why you want the specific job role that you are applying for.