Engineer Review

I am a Mechanical, Building Services Engineer working within the Science, Industry & Technology sector, primarily on Data Centres. I have also worked on a wide range of building types across a variety of sectors. My day-to-day work is mainly office based. I collaborate with Architects, Engineers, Designers and Contractors - attending in-person and remote meetings, internally and externally, on-site and in offices - to provide quality solutions that are most thoughtful, creative and sustainable for our clients and the communities they impact. Having recently graduated with a BEng (Hons) in Building Services Engineering from Leeds Beckett University - attending in-person on weekly day release - and having gone through the process myself, I now mentor junior apprentices through their apprenticeships, drawing on my first-hand experience to transfer knowledge, skills and expertise, but most importantly, offering guidance and support throughout their progression.

I have gained a plethora of both existing and new skills I have developed throughout my apprenticeship at Arup. With having an engineering apprenticeship, I have gained an abundance of technical knowledge and expertise i.e., hard skills - not just in my discipline of building services engineering, but of the wider construction industry. It is also important to note the soft skills I have gained and developed too, such as effective interpersonal communication (formally and informally, long-form and short-form using all mediums - telephone calls, video calls, emails, in-person meetings, face-to-face conversations etc.), and the organisational skills that are imperative to meeting project timescales.

Thoroughly and wholeheartedly. Obviously, this would sound cheesy to me as a reader but as the writer, I can honestly say that I have enjoyed going to work. Not just because Arup is one of the foremost engineering consultancies worldwide, who work on the most amazing projects and whose founder was one of the most influential engineers of the 20th century. I love my work because of the people, the environment and opportunities - it takes two seconds of research to get an idea of Arup's ethos and it's culture. My academic studies at university part-time, combined with the scale of Arup provided me with exposure to all of the sectors within Building Services Engineering, and by being both encouraged by my colleagues and proactive myself in seeking such exposure, I was able to learn what I naturally liked and took to - allowing me to develop the role and workload which suits me, but also helped me to identify the areas in which I could best place efforts to improve and develop further.

Overall, it couldn't of been a higher standard. My programme was well structured, with clear definitions of what to do and when from the outset. This allowed me as an apprentice to focus on what was important, my day-to-day development towards long-term targets (BEng & IEng qualifications), without the stress of keeping one eye on the door - as I had comfort in knowing that if I focused on completing my academic assignments and examinations on-time, whilst developing the required vocational competencies I would suffice all requirements on-time and ensure successful completion of the various minor and major milestones throughout the apprenticeship and eventually, sign-off.

My mentors, line manager and wider colleagues are all proactive in ensuring I am supported and that my needs are met. Combining this with my proactivity in also seeking support when desired/required, I could not have receive more support throughout the entirety of my apprenticeship programme.

My training provider what proactive in reaching out when on day release (in-person) and remotely (via email and telephone call) to offer support if they felt necessary, but to also just generically provide an opportunity to request support if desired/required. Combining this with my proactivity in also seeking support , I could not have receive more support throughout the entirety of my apprenticeship programme.

It has provided underpinning, fundamental knowledge behind the vocational skills and expertise I have developed at work. I was also exposed to aspects of my industry which are limited within my working role e.g. asset management. Therefore, my qualification has undoubtedly made me a better engineer, but also a more well-rounded and holistic industry practitioner.

A plethora. There is a dedicated 'sports & socials' team with representatives in every team from a range of backgrounds, which organise a subsidised array of weekly social and sporting activities (if the name didn't give it away already), e.g. weekend walks and getaways (in the Lakes etc.), local pub quizzes, office yoga, 5-a-side football (locally) and charity cake sales and fundraisers in the office etc. There are also designated technical representatives in each team, whose role is to liaise with external presenters from their respective disciplines to provide Continual Professional Development and networking opportunities. There are also frequent opportunities to engage as an Arup representative for charitable organisations to offer advice, support and even mentorship e.g., Social Mobility Foundation and Generation for Change.

Yes

Based on my first-hand experience. Arup is built on the ethos of being morally just, and provides its members (employees) with an encouraging and supportive environment that allows them to nurture their natural talents to create roles which enable them to productively develop father, nurturing the next generation, whilst providing quality solutions that are most thoughtful, creative and sustainable for our clients and the communities they impact.

Be excited so that you are motivated. Be present so that you seize opportunities in each moment. Be conscious so that you identify natural interests. Be curious so that you honestly, and truly understand them. Most importantly, be you. Do not conform because truly diverse thinking provides the difference in perspective that results in richer and resilient outcomes, which is beneficial to Arup and the industry but even greater to you as an apprentice. Good luck.