Process Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Review
at AstraZeneca
Degree Apprenticeship
Chemical Engineering
Macclesfield
Review Submitted: March 2025
Overall Rating
3.6 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
5/5
-
Overview of Role
4/5
-
Skills Development
3/5
-
Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
5/5
As a process engineer apprentice I started off working in the Pilot Plant on the Macclesfield site, shadowing the pilot plant technicians and learning how a chemical plant operates. I am currently on a secondment within the Large Scale Laboratories to widen my breath of experience of drug manufacturing and will continue to rotate to get as much experience within the chemical engineering sector as possible. There are many things my job could entail from scaling up of processes to a lot of process safety, helping out commissioning of engineering equipment and even helping maintain the pilot plant!
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
5/5
I enjoy my programme and am very glad I personally switched from full time university to a degree apprenticeship. The boost in my career and the opportunities this apprenticeship has given me is endless and I feel I will have the building blocks for a successful career by the end of my five years here
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
I have learnt a plethora of skills as an apprentice even though I have been here for less than two years. Some of which include professionalism, time management, project management, networking and plenty more to come! Astrazeneca and process engineering is general has and provides for oppurtunities with such a varied skillset
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
The apprenticeship was initially not so well structured regarding work based learning requirements we had to meet and there was quite a bit of confusion on how to actually achieve the apprenticeship standard component of the course. However after a allocated WBL advisor was given this did change and now secondments and placements can be arranged to help us get his breadth of experience which is good. It can be challenging to balance the degree, job and apprenticeship standard (WBL) all at once though and it has proven difficult for me at times
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
My employer has been generally great, compared to full time university I have a lot more support and get a lot more opportunities. I have a manager, mentor, buddy, WBL advisor and university tutor to assist me with all my work and do it is a very thorough system.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
2/5
Strathclyde as a university is a good university. However the workload is extremely overwhelming at times and although they provide lectures a lot of it is purely self taught and barely any 1:1 contact time with tutorials which makes it hard. The modules are also not the best sometimes with the content being too hard and not well taught. We get one day a week to study however this is never enough. I find myself studying most evenings and a lot of weekends and feel this shouldn't be the case at all
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
3/5
It helps a decent amount. However they are quite different I maybe use 25% of what I learn in my role
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
2/5
There is the apprentice community that hosts apprentice events. However, these events do not help having a social life outside of work and I have not found them beneficial at all.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend AstraZeneca to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Very good company that provide good pay, benefits, endless opportunities and support to anyone who is willing to put the effort in
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to AstraZeneca?
Learn the company values and have a good range of experiences thought out that relate to these values before attending any interviews. Also have a good work ethic and be a well rounded person in general
