Digital & IT Degree Apprentice Review

I move around different business units within E.ON to gain an understanding of what they all do, so my day to day roles are varied. In the past, I have been part of the security team, which involved working with third parties and internal stakeholders to discuss new projects and fix issues as they arose.

I've learned many different skills throughout my time on the scheme, both technical and business related. I have learned how to create engaging speeches and presentations on the business side, whilst also learning about Agile work methods from a technical point of view, such as how to manage sprints.

I enjoy being on the scheme as the different placements and university study blocks give me something new to learn on a pretty regular basis. The university study blocks can sometimes be a little too intense, which can make focusing on learning difficult towards the end. From a work perspective, I enjoy moving around and meeting different teams and finding out how they work and what that adds to E.ON

From an E.ON perspective, the programme is organised very well, and I always know where I stand with changing placements and who to speak to should there be any issues. From the training point of view, Nottingham Trent is not always great with timetabling, sometimes leaving it to the last second or just straight up making mistakes.

I have plenty of people at work who I can speak to if there is any issue, such as my apprenticeship sponsor, work mentor, university mentor, or just the other apprentices within E.ON. I have regular catch-ups with these people which gives me more than ample opportunity to raise any issues I have, and provide feedback.

When we've been issued coursework, module leaders put in regular time in order for anyone on the course to contact them about any issues. They additionally (usually) provide useful feedback after each coursework module, so that we can improve in the future. This is sometimes late, but I've always received it in the end.

There's been many times where either something I've learned at work has helped my out in university, or vice versa. For example at work I've made to create presentations and speeches for various different topics, which has put me ahead for when I've needed to do the same at university. Similarly, the report writing skills at university have come in handy in day to day work at E.ON

There's a broad range of extra curricular activities offered by the university that all apprentices are valid for. Additionally, there's internal social networks at E.ON that can link you to people with similar hobbies and interests, and outside of that too there's other events that we get notified about to get involved in.

Yes

E.ON provides me a great opportunity to complete a degree whilst learning at the job, which is how I prefer to learn. The broad range of business units has also given me lots of options for placements, which means that when I end my apprenticeship, I've got varied experience not just within IT but outside of it too.

Unlike applying to a university, you need to ensure you have skills outside of your qualifications/subjects. Having experience in a previous workplace of any sort, or volunteering gives you a much better opportunity to discuss these within interviews, and will help you out in other activities you might find on your interview day.