Software Developer Apprentice Review

My role is split across being a release manager for 4 projects which is a massive responsibility that has been assigned to me. I look after the environments and deploy new releases. The other half of my role is a developer, at the moment I am developing XSLT scripts to create PDF reports. Once this project has finished I will be moving onto a junior developer role.

I have learnt the following skills: --> XSLT --> XML --> Linux commands I have developed the following existing skills: --> Java (Training course) --> SQL (Training course and on the job experience) --> Front end languages (html, css etc) --> Soft skills (training courses and on the job experience)

The team I work in is a really good team who treat me like a full employee rather than just an apprentice which I believe to be a really important aspect for all apprenticeship programmes. The company culture is to look after the employees as share holders in the company. The work life balance is good, but with all the coursework its not much of a "life" balance but thats to be expected :)

I get a lot of appreciation from my manager and work colleagues, and this is displayed by the level of trust and responsibilities that have been passed down to me in my day to day role.

The induction was good and informative for the CGI side of things, but the programme structure is still a working progress but we are kept informed of how it is going so it could be a lot worse.

I see my assessor every 8 weeks which is good, QA in general are good with providing support but sometimes it may take a while for a response and/or for my work to be marked.

I receive a lot of support from CGI, my manager is understanding and helps out where possible. There is a lot more support available than I have felt the need to take, which is a good position to be in.

The salary is good for what I am doing now considering I am getting a qualification on the side. When I first started I struggled a bit with the wage as I was on a higher paid job before hand, but the pay rises have been good and now I am living more comfortably. Travel costs are really good with CGI, as my project is located at a different location to my base office, CGI cover the cost of my diesel and a bit more for maintenance of my car which really helps.

There are plenty of opportunities outside of work, especially with the sports and social club which CGI set up specifically for this.

Yes

Because CGI are a reputable company with good job prospects, the starting salary is good for an apprentice and you have the opportunity to go onto the sponsored degree programme afterwards to get your degree funded, and then be on a decent salary.

During the assessment days, just be yourself and go in with a clear head as they really are not trying to catch you out, they look at your personality and how you act when working in a team.