Apprentice Lab Technician Review

My role as a lab technician involves me carrying out day to day lab chores in our lab facilities to provide quality service to our customers, this involves things like maintaining equipment, cleaning lab benches, making up ethanol and virkon, checking lab inventory stock and providing lab inductions to any new tenants.

I have learnt new skills and also developed my own existing skills. I became more confident and I also learnt what it actually means to be a team player. I also learnt new technical skills and to pay attention to detail. I had many training opportunities and experience in my apprenticeship journey. I had access to many courses like COSHH, gmo abd biological safety, how to handle hazardous waste, fire training and first aid training.

I really enjoy my apprenticeship as everyday there is something new other than my daily routines. At my workplace we have a small team so sometimes I have to cover different tasks which are actually quite interest and useful for my experience such as IT or reception. I also get the chance to meet and talk to tenants and learn about their business and their research they are doing. Another great part is that we have lots of social events and it allows me to have fun and network with other tenants.

It is very very well structured, my team and line manager are very supportive and made sure I got all the training courses I needed and even gave me extra courses to go on such as mental health first aider training course and one the learning provide side it is also easy going as we have set lessons every thursday and we receive a lot of resources to help us understand what we learnt in class.

My employer supports me a lot, especially my line manager as I always work with him directly and he takes things on with his manager or higher. My line manager makes sure I learn a lot of skills and gain a lot insight in the industry. He always pushes me to do my best and network with others which actually boosted my confidence a lot too.

My training provider sets me a good amount of resources and homework to work on out outside of class which boosts my knowledge and memory. The learning in class is very interactive, we get to watch a lot of videos and answer a lot of questions too so we are constantly engaged and class isn't too passive.

The qualification through my training provide helps me understand my role and my business well as I am working in a science industry and I can actually understand what I am contributing towards and what the scientists in my workplace are working for in their research. It also motivates me to work harder because I understand that I am working for a good purpose.

As I mentioned earlier, my workplace has many extra-curricular activitives like social events (movie night, game board night) and professional networking events as well as seminars. These events help me a lot in my apprenticeship journey as I get to enjoy fun things at work too and also get to know other people.

Yes

There are so many apprenticeship opportunities at Oxford university and they all vary from different fields such as business, healthcare, finance, science etc. You gain lots of experience and knowledge and have the chance to receive so much training - the career development is very good. And best of all is that you get the best of both worlds, you work, you learn and get paid!

I'd say make sure you get a good amount of work experience before hand and also make sure you look account many options possible because there is so many courses and levels so you need to know what fits you best. Sometimes you will see various jobs in oxford university for the same role because we have so many departments and locations all around so you can apply for many and give it your best shot.