Apprentice Review

My role involves rotating around multiple departments within the company on a rotation basis, within each department I am expected to gain an understanding of what it is they do, and often present to the department leaders at the end of my placement to prove my understanding. In addition, I attend college on a day release basis to complete my studies

Yes, I have gained a huge amount of knowledge pertaining to the way in which the manufacturing plant operates, moving through departments enables me to get a good high level understanding across the business, and develop good working relationships with colleagues across a broad range of departments, something that will be incredibly useful in my final placement. This is in addition to the more technical knowledge that also comes with time spent in each department.

I enjoy the program very much, each placement is well thought out, and departments always ensure that Apprentices have meaningful projects to undertake when they arrive within a placement. I also enjoy the time at college, and feel the course content provides a good knowledge base to take forward into the workplace.

The program is very well structured, from day one my timetable for the first six weeks was already set out, before spending the first year at college. The company always provided meaningful placement work during term holidays, and my second and third year rotation timetables were laid out well before time. In addition, Apprentice meetings are a great way to communicate with the other apprentices on a regular basis, and compare experiences, as well as give feedback on the program.

The support available to apprentices is very good, a full induction into the company took place upon arrival, where we were introduced to our mentor, each apprentice year group has a mentor they can go to with any issues they have, which is a very useful tool when settling in to a new company

Support is available to all on the course if needed, a wealth of resources is available to students, including google classrooms containing relevant sources of information, as well as a library containing further resources, as well as providing a quiet space to work, as well as computer resources if required.

I feel that the qualification that I am working towards is very helpful with regards my role at work. The content within is mostly relevant to what I do within my placements, and provides a good knowledge base from which to pick from, meaning we can go in to a new department with a good level of underlying knowledge about the subject matter.

Not extra curricular activities as such, but the company mandates that all employees partake in a certain number of hours of community service per year, last year me and some of the other apprentices helped with the running of a local community fun day, acting as stewards for the event. In addition, apprentices are encouraged to attend careers events in local schools and colleges to promote the apprenticeship.

Yes

It's a great place to work, the apprenticeship is well structured, and has provided a wealth of knowledge and experience, and set me up for a successful career in engineering. In addition, the people working at cummins are, on the whole, great to work with, whichever department you are in.

Do it! In your interviews, do your research so you can demonstrate knowledge of the company and your prospective job role, and be confident! If you're successful, make the most of each of your placements, even if it's not something you're interested in, there is always knowledge to take away that can help in other departments.