The Student Room Group

Any Degree Apprentices on here?

Hey guys, I want to know if there are any degree apprentices on here so that I can pick brains about what your employers are doing to aid your progression. Do any of you have group meetings as apprentices? If so, what kind of things do you cover? Do you find them useful and if not, what would make them better?
Original post by smartince98
Hey guys, I want to know if there are any degree apprentices on here so that I can pick brains about what your employers are doing to aid your progression. Do any of you have group meetings as apprentices? If so, what kind of things do you cover? Do you find them useful and if not, what would make them better?


Is it ok, if a Professional engineer joins you for the conversation, who have already done his degree apprenticeship and have secured a good job ?
Original post by JOSHKOIKKARA
Is it ok, if a Professional engineer joins you for the conversation, who have already done his degree apprenticeship and have secured a good job ?

Of course! I'm a degree apprentice myself and am curious to see what other apprentices think would benefit them! If you have any views, feel free to add them:smile:
whats a degree apprentice?
Hey, how doing ? Degree apprenticeships are a type of program offered by some universities which combine working with studying part-time at a university.

Well, before searching for a part time, I would recommend you to find the connection between your study subject and the work you are planning to do. For Example, You are planning to study music in college. In case you get a part time job in music, you can try out your lessons in the job field and can help yourself improve in a better way. When you play newly learned lessons you do impress the people around you as well as you gain a good exposure to the music field. It will help you improve your stage fear if any and gain you experience on what the public is looking for.

Similarily, when you study and work together in the fields associated with the subject of study, you can earn learn, understand, the subject well and also can find a great opportunity to work with experienced professionals , who can help you improve and modify your skills based on present industrial scenario. Some Companies do consider apprentice certificates valid as short term experience too.

Majority of the companies will have conference meetings (in group). These are conducted in order to understand your contribution to the company and your learning strategy. There will be 2+ trainers to teach you and gives you an opportunity to assist them. Also some companies do have evaluations at the end of the apprentice to check, how much you could grasp and learn from the apprenticeship. If your performance is good and have notably good character, acceptable as per company regulations, Soon after your college you will receive offer letter from the company to work under them as Apprentice Staff. It depends totally upon your performance and skills.

Obviously it will be useful and will be having more importance not in studies but in industrial level needs according to the subject you study.

From my background, I am from India. While pursuing my graduation in instrumentation, I signed for an apprenticeship / inplant training with a refinery. When I graduated, I was well aware about industrial needs and standards, helping me to crack the job interviews immediately and got absorbed to the same company where i did my apprenticeship. So, i would brief it up like, it is a part of training given for graduates along with studies. So after studies, since you are already trained, they just absorb you in.
Hope you could understand me.
ahhhhhhh. Ok cool

Original post by JOSHKOIKKARA
Hey, how doing ? Degree apprenticeships are a type of program offered by some universities which combine working with studying part-time at a university.

Well, before searching for a part time, I would recommend you to find the connection between your study subject and the work you are planning to do. For Example, You are planning to study music in college. In case you get a part time job in music, you can try out your lessons in the job field and can help yourself improve in a better way. When you play newly learned lessons you do impress the people around you as well as you gain a good exposure to the music field. It will help you improve your stage fear if any and gain you experience on what the public is looking for.

Similarily, when you study and work together in the fields associated with the subject of study, you can earn learn, understand, the subject well and also can find a great opportunity to work with experienced professionals , who can help you improve and modify your skills based on present industrial scenario. Some Companies do consider apprentice certificates valid as short term experience too.

Majority of the companies will have conference meetings (in group). These are conducted in order to understand your contribution to the company and your learning strategy. There will be 2+ trainers to teach you and gives you an opportunity to assist them. Also some companies do have evaluations at the end of the apprentice to check, how much you could grasp and learn from the apprenticeship. If your performance is good and have notably good character, acceptable as per company regulations, Soon after your college you will receive offer letter from the company to work under them as Apprentice Staff. It depends totally upon your performance and skills.

Obviously it will be useful and will be having more importance not in studies but in industrial level needs according to the subject you study.

From my background, I am from India. While pursuing my graduation in instrumentation, I signed for an apprenticeship / inplant training with a refinery. When I graduated, I was well aware about industrial needs and standards, helping me to crack the job interviews immediately and got absorbed to the same company where i did my apprenticeship. So, i would brief it up like, it is a part of training given for graduates along with studies. So after studies, since you are already trained, they just absorb you in.
Hope you could understand me.
Original post by smartince98
Hey guys, I want to know if there are any degree apprentices on here so that I can pick brains about what your employers are doing to aid your progression. Do any of you have group meetings as apprentices? If so, what kind of things do you cover? Do you find them useful and if not, what would make them better?

I’m a final year degree apprentice.

I have a daily 15 minute meeting every day with the department team, where we go through what our daily plan is, and what we’ve completed, any problems etc.
(Agile Scrum project management methodology)

Also have a mentor meeting every 2 weeks to discuss training opportunities and general progress.

I also have a department supervisor who I meet with once a week to review goals and objectives.

Apart from that, I usually look out for training opportunities and cost them up myself. I present/pitch them to my line manager and mentor after.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by Chris2892
I’m a final year degree apprentice.

I have a daily 15 minute meeting every day with the department team, where we go through what our daily plan is, and what we’ve completed, any problems etc.
(Agile Scrum project management methodology)

Also have a mentor meeting every 2 weeks to discuss training opportunities and general progress.

I also have a department supervisor who I meet with once a week to review goals and objectives.

Apart from that, I usually look out for training opportunities and cost them up myself. I present/pitch them to my line manager and mentor after.

I am guessing that you a software developer apprentice, do mind me asking which firm you work?
Original post by Anonymous
I am guessing that you a software developer apprentice, do mind me asking which firm you work?

Mechanical Engineering, working in medical device research and development for Johnson & Johnson.
Original post by Chris2892
I’m a final year degree apprentice.

I have a daily 15 minute meeting every day with the department team, where we go through what our daily plan is, and what we’ve completed, any problems etc.
(Agile Scrum project management methodology)

Also have a mentor meeting every 2 weeks to discuss training opportunities and general progress.

I also have a department supervisor who I meet with once a week to review goals and objectives.

Apart from that, I usually look out for training opportunities and cost them up myself. I present/pitch them to my line manager and mentor after.

Agreed, I also have meetings regularly to discuss training opportunities and progress etc. I'm a third year degree apprentice.

My issue is, my regular meetings are as part of a group, so one leader from the office sits down with all 8 degree apprentices and we have discussions about what is going on in work, the projects we're working on (in work) and how we're progressing at uni. I've been asked by the leaders to come up with ideas to make the sessions more engaging. They're struggling to make the sessions worthwhile, so they're thinking about splitting it up into individual meetings, which would be a shame as it's really the only time that the degree apprentices get together for anything, plus it would just take more time out of the leader's schedule.

I'm looking to see if there are any ideas anybody has about what their companies are doing (if they have these types of sessions) to make them more engaging, whether it's group activities or discussions, anything along those lines, and if their companies aren't doing something like that, what would you see could be a beneficial thing to have?
Original post by smartince98
Agreed, I also have meetings regularly to discuss training opportunities and progress etc. I'm a third year degree apprentice.

My issue is, my regular meetings are as part of a group, so one leader from the office sits down with all 8 degree apprentices and we have discussions about what is going on in work, the projects we're working on (in work) and how we're progressing at uni. I've been asked by the leaders to come up with ideas to make the sessions more engaging. They're struggling to make the sessions worthwhile, so they're thinking about splitting it up into individual meetings, which would be a shame as it's really the only time that the degree apprentices get together for anything, plus it would just take more time out of the leader's schedule.

I'm looking to see if there are any ideas anybody has about what their companies are doing (if they have these types of sessions) to make them more engaging, whether it's group activities or discussions, anything along those lines, and if their companies aren't doing something like that, what would you see could be a beneficial thing to have?

Usually when they split up, they expect you as well as others to bring up some interesting information helpful for both your company and colleagues.

For example: They may be working 24x7 and well aware about how to work with the machines or systems. While, you have an opportunity to look around and bring up a new security measure related topic, or other ideas to minimise the production costs etc.

Make a note, just by talking it won't work at all. Instead collect as many as details needed from the present employees and present them with a PowerPoint presentation of what you wish to share and what are the present things in company, and how your idea can be implemented etc. You can even compare the present and future requirements too. From company's perspective, this will sounds like you are giving more input to the company or for the wellbeing of the employees.

So observe, share and don't stick to time hoping to be with your colleagues all the time, instead excel in the performance and deliver something new to the company profile.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by JOSHKOIKKARA
Usually when they split up, they expect you as well as others to bring up some interesting information helpful for both your company and colleagues.

For example: They may be working 24x7 and well aware about how to work with the machines or systems. While, you have an opportunity to look around and bring up a new security measure related topic, or other ideas to minimise the production costs etc.

Make a note, just by talking it won't work at all. Instead collect as many as details needed from the present employees and present them with a PowerPoint presentation of what you wish to share and what are the present things in company, and how your idea can be implemented etc. You can even compare the present and future requirements too. From company's perspective, this will sounds like you are giving more input to the company or for the wellbeing of the employees.

So observe, share and don't stick to time hoping to be with your colleagues all the time, instead excel in the performance and deliver something new to the company profile.

I agree, however that doesn't really apply to my line of work.

I work in Civil Engineering, and the reason we have these regular meetings is because we have to obtain 20% off the job learning, and we also have an end-point assessment to prepare for, alongside our studies. The content of our meetings include: checking our current subjects in university against the work we're carrying out in the office, seeing where we all our on our end-point assessment progress, checking we're all obtaining our 20% off the job learning, and to also see whether we have any issues or worries with the university that they may be able to resolve. It's not a social meeting, however the nature of the meeting means that one or two members of the group have the tendency to bring an attitude that isn't really welcome, hence why I've been asked to come up with a solution.

(Edit) - I should also note that beyond these meetings we do each have regular 1:1 meetings with workplace mentors already. I've been asked to find a solution to resolving the group meetings and make them more worthwhile, so I'm asking apprentices who have had similar experiences or have their own views on the type of content that could be beneficial in a scenario like that.
(edited 4 years ago)
My group meetings with the rest of the apprentices are usually with line management. It’s more of an apprentice initiative to highlight training opportunities and pitch them.

NAFEMS offer weekly live FEA online webinar training sessions. They’re not too expensive either, so shouldn’t put a major hole in your training budget. This might be applicable for you?

I find that if you all try to manage your apprenticeship collectively, it’s extremely awkward to align on goals and actions. Group meetings may benefit from just covering things that effect the wider scheme, not just individuals.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by smartince98
I agree, however that doesn't really apply to my line of work.

I work in Civil Engineering, and the reason we have these regular meetings is because we have to obtain 20% off the job learning, and we also have an end-point assessment to prepare for, alongside our studies. The content of our meetings include: checking our current subjects in university against the work we're carrying out in the office, seeing where we all our on our end-point assessment progress, checking we're all obtaining our 20% off the job learning, and to also see whether we have any issues or worries with the university that they may be able to resolve. It's not a social meeting, however the nature of the meeting means that one or two members of the group have the tendency to bring an attitude that isn't really welcome, hence why I've been asked to come up with a solution.

(Edit) - I should also note that beyond these meetings we do each have regular 1:1 meetings with workplace mentors already. I've been asked to find a solution to resolving the group meetings and make them more worthwhile, so I'm asking apprentices who have had similar experiences or have their own views on the type of content that could be beneficial in a scenario like that.

obviously what you have mentioned is correct, these gatherings depends upon the nature of the work profile and its intensity. So, it depends upon the requirements. In the above para, I took a random example, to explain what you can expect from degree apprentices.
Does the salary of a degree apprentice rise over time?
Original post by Horrid Bendy
Does the salary of a degree apprentice rise over time?

It depends on your employer. Many give incentive to do well as a salary increase based on results, but others may have a fixed salary over the course of your studies and then pay you a graduate wage after you complete your course (subject to contract).

Quick Reply

Latest