M&E engineer Review

As an apprentice, I would get to tag along with the engineers and watch/take part in their jobs. The type of jobs would depend on the day and whether there was enough staff you train you. However, sometimes you are used as a delivery boy or a job which does not benefit you in terms of learning.

I have enhanced my communication skills, whether that be sending emails or calling managers/ coordinators etc. I have be able to use a range of different hand/power tools and various electrical testing equipment. Due to the nature of the role, I have been able to improve my driving experience by driving around London to reach different sites.

If I had to sum up my apprenticeship programme, I would say it was ok but could be troubling depending on the week. For example sometimes no work would be planned or nobody interested in taking around an apprentice. As stated before, sometimes being used as a delivery boy or cleaner.

If I was to be honest, I would say the structure of the apprenticeship programme is quite poor, as nothing is in place to aid apprentices in learning what they need to learn to finish their apprenticeship confidently. You’re forced to chase people to get jobs which will help you with your logbooks.

I would say the support is there depending on what it is. For example one manager approved all my training I wanted to go on that would benefit me. On the other hand it took me a while to get a laptop, which I needed in order to book courses, and a previous manager refused to order me one despite being told too by the apprenticeship team.

I would say the support depended on the assessor you were given. Some assessors wouldn’t assess your work for months, making it seem like you weren’t making progress. One assessor was good at assessing work, but I saw him in person 3 times in over 2 years for meetings.

One benefit I can think of would be the job write ups you have to write in order to tick of criteria. These job write ups include all the information you have learned about the job you’ve done and how you did it. These write ups are filled with detail which forces you to research and ask questions.

For the first 3.5 years of my apprenticeship there was no extra curricular activities available to me as an apprentice. For the last 6 months of my apprenticeship, football as been arranged once a month( the teams are workers vs managers). These games can be fun and competitive each time.

Yes

I would recommend this apprenticeship, as it’ll give you a trade, which can be used elsewhere, as well as enhancing your skills and building relationships. Importantly it’ll give you life skills, which you’ll be able to use throughout your life and be the stepping stone of your career.

What tips or advice would I give? Be lucky. I would say your apprenticeship is what you make of it. This can be dependent on the team you join, the manager you go under or work that is available to you in your area day to day in order to improve experience.