Fast track Apprentice Review

My job title is apprentice, I work in the data engineering department in the HMRC, my daily role would probably fall under a admin role with IT technician work intertwined occasionally. Due to security reasons and the apprenticeship training not starting yet I haven't been able to start my actual role in the apprenticeship yet; once it does however I will be a developer on one of our projects developing secret projects.

I have learnt what working in an office is like, I have also learnt how government operates. Everyday I am learning and developing new skills thanks to working within the HMRC. Despite not actually starting my programme I have had a look through the course and deduced that the skills I "should" be learning on this course will greatly benefit me in my role in the HMRC.

My program still hasn't started, however in my job role I am enjoying the aspects of the work place. I am sure once I actually start my scheme, I can get the most out of my job. I also plan on finishing my programme as fast as possible so I can move into a more permanent and prominent position in the development team. The programme is not meeting my expectations due to how long and frustrating QA seem to be making the whole process.

Despite the poor recruitment and on-boarding process and the problems we are having with not having systems to do our apprenticeship on, I as an individual feel very valued by my peers. I always receive friendly welcomes from team members and despite there being higher people who earn a lot more money than me and have a lot more responsibility they are always friendly and always have time for my numerous questions.

Not very well organised, the recruitment took over 6 months longer than it should of, I have been in my job for over 2 months and have still not been able to touch my actual course.

Not much, all the encounters I've had with QA seem to be from the same script, no new information has been shared and they are all really hard to get in touch with.

A lot of support, the HMRC of course has its issues with everything taking longer due to the security measures and such, but my team has been so supportive and I feel bad for them due to the moaning regarding the training provider.

Travel is quite expensive for me and moving to Manchester would be very expensive. While I could afford to move here on my salary I wouldn't have any money left over. So living at home is still the best option and paying for travel. The only problem is parking is really restrictive and very expensive in the surrounding area, if we had a bigger car park for staff that we could get a regular parking space that would be great.

There are lots of apprentice events we have attended, we have also been asked to volunteer for apprentice events and such. I am sure once I get my name out there in the initial volunteering sessions I will be invited to many more sessions.

Yes

Civil service is a solid career option; you feel very valued and you feel like you are actually achieving stuff on a day to day basis.

Ask lots of questions; don't feel like you're annoying anyone by asking too many question (if you are annoying them, who cares?). Make sure to volunteer for everything you can and never say no.