High Performance Computing - Apprentice Review
at AWE
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Computer Science
Reading
Review Submitted: April 2025
Overall Rating
3.9 /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!
4.5/5
-
Overview of Role
5/5
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Skills Development
3.2/5
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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
Day to Day administration, development, and research of supercomputing/supercomputers
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
4/5
Highly enjoy the workplace experience, the college side of the programme is mainly a re-tread of content covered in my previous education. However, lessons are infrequent enough so it prevents it from being repetitive.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
New skills developed in Linux system administration and other additional applications such as slurm.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
The start of my placement was unorganised due to poor communication from the apprentice body to the placement. This left me having no clear structure for the first three weeks. After this, however, the placements have continued to be well paced with a clear plan and set of skills I must adhere to. College work is also really well paced with it all designed around a clear end date.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
I receive a ton of support and flexibility from my employer.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
3/5
I receive a good amount of support from my provider, mainly through monthly progress meetings. The only concern is that the timeline for how I progress in earning my qualification is unclear aside from the end date.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
1/5
The qualification provided as a part of this apprenticeship is the same level as others I have undertaken before coming here. Therefore, this qualification's use is to allow me to outturn into the organisation to progress my career.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
4/5
There are a large number of activities and community events at work, although many don't interest me too much. I have also already been approach about attending multiple networking events, so there are a lot of opportunities for this.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend AWE to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Strong job security/progression, consistent annual pay rises, solid list of company benefits, very good work flexibility, and a great company pension contribution makes AWE a good place to build and maintain a long career if you are comfortable with the nature of the work undertaken here.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to AWE?
Prove to the hiring team that you are reliable, trustworthy, and dedicated to organisation's objectives. Go into the interview with a strong knowledge of the organisation and of the technical aspects of the role you applied for.
