Facilities Support Assistant Apprentice Review

My role at facilities support assistant, or FSA, was to look after the building I was stationed at at the time. My job was to monitor the daily running of the building to ensure requirements were met. We had daily, weekly and monthly tasks to be carried out to ensure the upkeep and successful running of the building. There were many safety protocols to think about within my job.

Teamwork - working together as a team was extremely important in my role as without the help from the team, we wouldn't be able to provide adequate service. Everyone pulling their own weight makes the job seem easier and gets it done quicker and to a better standard. Organisation - In order to ensure all jobs were completed to a high standard, organisation was a big deal. I had to develop my organisational skills in order to make sure I was able get everything done on time. Tool work - I was able to become a lot more confident in myself to use tools effectively and safely. Thanks to the guidance of colleagues, I became more confident in myself to perform tasks to a high standard.

Overall I very much enjoyed my apprentice programme. Although some days were slow and some jobs unpleasant, I still had a lot of fun overall. There were some amazing moments and at times it felt more like a "social club" than work because we all got on really well and enjoyed being in each others presents. I was moved all around the oxford university sites, meaning I got to go in some amazing places and see things very few have seen, simply because I was part of the maintenance team.

The organisation of the program was pretty good but could have been a lot better. Because the program was outsourced and we only met with tutors once a month or once every 6 weeks, it meant that certain instances were difficult. Some modules within the programme were not layed out very well and the online learning site was not particularly user friendly. We did have some options of where to get help and who to email for resources, but sometimes it is easiest to sit down and talk to someone about the issues you have/what is confusing you, and because of the remoteness of the tutors and learning providers, it left apprentices feeling isolated at certain points.

LOADS!!! Managers, supervisors and colleagues I encountered were always more than happy to help out with anything I was unsure about. Helping to explain things I didn't understand, showing me examples, teaching me the job role and how to do it to the best standard. And once again I reiterate, it was like a social club at work, everyone laughing and joking around while still getting all the work done to a high standard, meeting customers expectations and being super friendly, nice and helpful to everyone you meet.

Pretty good support. Lots of information, presentations, word documents, examples and things of that nature. However, because we were only have 1 meeting with the tutor every month, it did mean that you felt a bit isolated from them. Not all the tutors I had were particularly responsive, sometimes having to wait several days for a simple "yes or no". Obviously we are all human and some leeway should be acceptable, but because we are students and they are out teachers, we should be able to get quick responses to simple quires

I feel like my job role is fairly simple and easy to understand. Yes there are occasions where specific things can be complex, or needing to have the right qualifications and training is mandatory, but generally my job role was simple. The problem with the apprentice was that the job is very "hands on" physical things like maintenance, and the course was all academic so certain things did not correlate very well. roughly 70% was great, 30% was almost pointless.

Yes lots and lots of things. My employer pushes its employees and students to take part in activities outside of work. Not only is it proven to be good for you, but it also helps you meet people, create new friendships, learn about other job roles, and widen your social circle.

Yes

Lots of room to move around within the company, lots of possible careers and professions to go down. Amazing support network around you Great people to work with Really good benefits and pension scheme Competitive pay, lots of annual leave Great on the CV ---> "oxford university" Nice working environment Amazing building (get to work in some amazing areas and see lots of cool things) Lots of internal promotions into vacant positions.

Go for it! It wont be to everyone's likings but its a great employer. Looks amazing on the CV because they are so well known around the world. Everyone is super friendly and you will be welcomed into the teams with open arms as long as you are competent and can add something to the team. Don't be affraid of something new, it could change your life!