Chemical Engineering Degree Apprentice Review

I work as a process engineer focused on the improvement of the process in production of a factory, as well as a number of other Research and Development teams to develop new products and further existing products. I interact with managers, directors and other process engineers, to gain knowledge from them and further my learning from a work perspective. I help manage and support projects critical to the business and have a responsibility to help the company continue to produce it's products

not only have I been working toward my degree while working for unilever, but I have also partaken in courses that help develop me personally. there are courses I plan to take as a first aider, mental health first aider and fire warden, all of which i don't believe someone of a similar age to me would not be able to access if they were working at a different company

I have loved each of the three teams I've been in so far, in each rotation the culture and ethics of the company have been present. Everyone wants to further and develop each other, and present a healthy challenge to each other. I thoroughly recommend and enjoy it to anyone my age

I'd say there's a mixed bag, at times the work side and support from the company is faultless, but the training provider isn't as well orientated to supporting apprentices as they are to full time students, they have improved over 3 years but there are a number of occasions where I have been behind as a result of lack of support

Incredible. Each placement has a manger to support my day to day work and life, as well as mentors around me to help me develop, discover problem solving solutions and help me grow as an engineer. I've had great support with mental health issues and work has given me the proper support to access and use the tools they provide

again, a mixed bag, at times brilliant support, and there are a few occasions where the support has been lacking, the team have been improving and they now have quarterly reviews as they should be doing but there have been a number of gaps. i still enjoy the course, but don't like feeling like I'm in second place to other students at times

There are a number of things in the programme and as part of my qualification that apply and I use daily to help with my role as a process engineer, but a number of the training provider's qualifications are more orientated to different sectors of chemical engineering. this is still a development opportunity but represents an issue of lack of application to my current role

Plenty, the site I'm working on currently is working on creating more, and with COVID most teams developed new methods of staying in touch such as virtual quizzes, crossword puzzles online together, coffee breaks and various others to help keep normality. there's also going to be an inter-disciplinary and inter-company football tournament

Yes

Unilever has always been a huge foundation for my family, and it's now the same for me. It presents growth opportunity for me in a huge number of ways, I have now been given a number of opportunities that nobody else I know my age is getting offered, nor have the same experience at the same age

Be yourself, the truest reflection of you will be the deciding factor of whether you are hired for the company, especially at an interview stage. The other stages are for assessing whether you are technically qualified, the interview is for assessing your interpersonal skills, how you interact with your potential new bosses, and the other people in your team