Apprentice Site Engineer Review

by Balfour Beatty

Best Apprenticeship Employer

Rating

7.8/10

1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

Assisting the Project Engineer with running the project which is mainly cabling and overhead lines, and filling in when required. Handling any day to day problems that may occur. Also, helping on site in the track with the gangs to gain experience and part time at Loughborough college studying level 4 Electrical Engineering.

8/10

2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

Developed communication and problem solving skills. Gained more technical knowledge on substations, overhead lines and engineering as a whole.

9/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

I enjoy the daily aspect of it where there is something different happening every day and every week. I enjoy the comradery amongst the gangs and the teamwork that is needed from everyone working on the project.

8/10

4. How well organised/structured is your programme?

Some difficulties at first but once I got into it properly and started college it has improved.

6/10

5. How much support do you receive from your employer?

From my line manager and the project engineer on the job a lot, and the lads on site also help and support me when I need it.

10/10

6. How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

From the college tutors it is hit and miss. sometimes they will reply quick and be helpful but other times it can take a while to get feedback from them and sometimes there is a communication issue.

5/10

7. How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

There is definitely a lot of cross over between the two but sometimes I find there are things that are not relevant to my job.

7/10

8. Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

There are a lot of online and in person courses you can apply for within the company that are taught internally and within my apprenticeship.

9/10

9a. Would you recommend Balfour Beatty to a friend?

Yes

9b. Why?

Great company to start with, with lots of different industries you can enter with various job roles. You are supported well by peers and have a good apprenticeship scheme with good qualifications and good pay. They try to connect you with other apprentices and are always looking for feedback on how to improve and are open to receiving criticism.

10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Balfour Beatty?

Do not be scared to talk and ask questions, no matter how silly you think they are as they will always help and gain knowledge from others more experienced. Stay focused and listen and always help others when you can as they will help you. Most importantly, enjoy it and try to have fun with your co-workers as much as you can whilst getting the job done.