Apprentice Software Developer Review

I am on a Software Development apprenticeship at Transport for London. I am involved in an Agile team which means I participate in scrum activities and daily. I am given projects based on which placement I am on try to fulfill a list of requirements with the help of the more experienced staff around me.

So far I have been on two external training courses at a QA center. These courses haven't helped much so far as they haven't applied to what I am doing at work. In terms of at actual work, I have learnt so much since joining as I am getting hands on with code every day and constantly improving my knowledge.

I enjoy work everyday due to the large amount of technologies I am using and getting involved in. I am currently with another group of apprentices so we all meet up regularly during lunch which is nice. The team I am in is also nice and provide help whenever I ask for it.

As apprentices, we have regular meetings with other apprentices as well as the apprenticeship manager. These are used as a way for us to ask any questions or raise concerns that we have. We also have meetings with very senior people within TfL who reassure our position in the company and that we are the future of TfL.

During the apprenticeship I go on three different placements lasting six months each. My second and third placement are both up to me to decide on based on what I think I would enjoy. I have weekly meetings with my line manager to see how I'm getting on with my project. He ensures I have enough time to complete my work but also do the coursework that comes with the apprenticeship.

During my external training, the assessor is always there to offer support and answer questions. My assessor that comes into my office usually responds pretty quickly to emails with any questions I might have about the coursework.

I get support from my direct team as and when I ask for it. I have a few managers I could speak to if I have any questions and they are always there. We also get support from the apprentice managers who basically look after all apprentices within the Tech department.

This is the highest paying software development apprenticeship I found when searching and I am paid higher than most people on my external training courses. I am perfectly happy with the amount of pay I get and it is set to raise considerably after rolling off. And of course, as it is TfL, all tube journeys are free which helps massively.

I haven't looked into outside of work opportunities too much but I have seen lots of examples of events happening for apprenticeships. Im sure that if this was something I was interested in, then there would be plenty of opportunities there for me.

Yes

I would definitely recommend working for TfL. There are so many opportunities within the company that if you didn't like the one you originally chose, they will help you move to another one. The pay is great also which is a biggie.

The assessment centre involves a group interview which consists of coming up with resolutions to a problem. Before you go, research how to stand out in these interviews and use the techniques you found. This helped me a lot.