Manufacturing Engineer Review

I have been going through a rotation in the workplace in which I have been moving around different departments and getting to know how each area runs. This has made me at least familiar with Quality Control, Goods in/logistics, Production and all departments in Engineering. My day to day consists of responding to breakdowns on the shop floor, helping with Engineering project work and also managing my own project in which I am the project lead.

I have developed my skills on 3D printing as I am very confident in designing on CAD, converting to STL and GCODE and then printing the model while also doing any maintenance or calibration on the 3D printers. My electrical and mechanical Engineering knowledge has increased a lot due to college and applying theory in the workplace.

I thoroughly enjoy my apprenticeship as I believe that the workload is enough to be learning all the time but not too much so I can also have enough time to do all my college work. I find college very interesting and I like that the theory we do at college is applicable in the workplace.

It is well organised, as previously stated the rotation at work was very good for my learning on the job and there are a lot of other apprentices in the workplace who are happy to support me. College does seem a bit unorganised as we were not told about logging our off the job hours or about our apprenticeship duties until 5 months into the apprenticeship so we all fell behind. I have also not had a tutor to come out to my workplace to check on how I'm doing since I started. The workplace is very well organised but the college is not so well organised.

I get support in any way that I need, we have weekly apprentice catch up meetings with members of the leadership team and 1 on 1 meetings every 2 weeks with my manager. There are plenty of other apprentices in Engineering and other departments that all support me if I need it.

I receive very good support from the workplace towards my qualification, I get one day out of work a week to go to college and I am permitted to do college work during the workday. College concerns are always bought up in the weekly apprentice meetings so there is an option to bring up any concerns I have there.

I think that my college training is very well suited to the work I do in the workplace. I do a lot of fault finding on electrical systems and working with electrical circuits which is the main focus of my qualifications. Circuit theory and knowing what components are/do is used daily for me at work.

Yes, there are always 'wellbeing events' in which a group will do an outside challenging activity (such as climbing the three peaks) for charity. There are often trips organised to different Seimens sites across the world and other educational visits to factories or innovative centres. We also have been to many apprentice events in which we share our experience.

Yes

The apprenticeship scheme is very good and well structured, there is a easy route to talk to anyone about any concerns you have or if you are unsure about anything. Everyone looks after new starters and apprentices very well and the training regime is thorough and always applied to your job role.

Be very enthusiastic with apprentice events externally or internal employee events. Do not be afraid to ask for assistance if you are unsure about anything, there will always be someone to ask who knows the answer. There is no such thing as a stupid question and don't be afraid to speak to a team leader or manager.