Apprentice Laboratory Tehcnician Review

General laboratory duties, involving setting out equipment and clearing labs up before/after student use, troubleshooting problems with equipment and learning to fix many of those in the workshop alongside getting to work on many projects for other staff and departments.

Yes, lots.

So far, a lot as there are many different opportunities to be taken and it has offered a lot of new experience, and even if there are issues the team is always eager to resolve these and support in any way they can.

A booklet was provided at the start of the apprenticeship containing many of the skills I would be doing.

I was introduced to line managers/apprenticeship managers & apprenticeship buddies in order to set up support and it was made known that I could contact any one of them as/when needed and regular meet ups were set with multiple of those from the beginning of my apprenticeship.

Communication from the provider was lacking at the beginning of the course but with feedback from learners this has began to improve. On occasions the work being given was possibly too much in a short period of time given that we only attend in person once a week. However, the lecturers were always very understanding and willing to help where possible.

The level 3 course is weighted more towards the biological industries but it is still useful knowledge to have and some skills picked up at college are still transferrable. Large portions of the content I personally already knew and so sometimes it felt like repeats.

There have been multiple social events between our team alone and/or the wider technical teams of Science & Technology. There are many seminars offered as well, on various topics, which are open for staff to attend.

Yes

The entire environment and team is very welcoming and comfortable and every member of the team is always open to help in any situation they can so there is no pressure to figure everything out yourself.

No two days will be the same as there are always new tasks to be completed and the workplace can be fast paced in the busier times of year, but everyone is supportive, helpful and willing to band together to get things done.