Ask an Apprentice: Jack
Category: Blog
Feb 19, 2020
Meet Jack, an Apprentice Engineering Technician at Plessey.
Why did you choose to do the Apprenticeship with Plessey?
When deciding on who to do my apprenticeship with and after a few interviews, in my opinion, Plessey had the most diversity and opportunities to excel. Plessey seemed to have so much going on that if I was to put in the effort I could go anywhere I wanted to within my career there, it also seemed so diverse that not one day would ever be the same. Four years on, I can confirm this to be true, going up through the ranks allows for a wealth of knowledge to be gained, which in turn allows you to appreciate what side of things you enjoy and where you want to naturally progress your career towards. I felt with some of my other potential options that it was very one-directional and was more of a job, rather than a career.
What have you found good/ supportive about completing your apprenticeship with Plessey?
The people within Plessey are so supportive, whether that’s with college or actual work, everyone is always willing to bend over backwards in order to help me in the right direction. In terms of my line manager and supervisors, they always give me enough information to encourage me to work things out for myself and if I am still unsure they support me in a way in which I can piece information together and learn from my experiences on our tools. They are also always accommodating in regards to college, whether that’s providing further detailed information about college subjects or giving me time to dedicate towards my studies.
What have you found helpful about studying at Plymouth City College?
The tutors on the HNC course are all very knowledgeable in their subjects and can accommodate all levels of understanding within our class, making it easier for everyone to keep up. They also deliver the content in a way which makes learning more interesting.
What do you feel you have gained so far?
Through doing an apprenticeship I feel I have gained valuable experience which I can not only apply to my jobs within work and college but throughout my everyday life also. It has allowed me to build up a number of skills such as socially, which I hope I can one day transfer into a managerial job whereby I have an appreciation of how people work and the best way in which to manage them in order to efficiently lead projects of my own.
How do you see the apprenticeship will help you in your future career (hopefully at Plessey)?
Again, through the skills I have developed over the course of my apprenticeship, I believe it puts me in good stead to progress my career further. Mainly because I have a good, hands-on understanding of how things work within the engineering sector, which I potentially wouldn’t have if I had just come out of university. Not only will I have the same academic knowledge of how engineering systems work, but I will also have a practical understanding and appreciation of how everything works.