Finance Apprentice Review

I am a finance apprentice and I currently work in general ledger. On of my tasks in this team involves reconciling the balance sheets for London River Services, Dial a Ride, GLA and GLA Land and Property. I also help a colleague with the balance sheet recs for Surface Transport. I also prepare the JFT revenue files. When I'm unsure on a task I have to communicate with my colleagues so they can show me how to carry out that specific task. When doing the balance sheet reconciliations, I have to communicate with the accountants to ensure all their workings match the amounts on SAP.

I have gained many skills during my placements. I have had training from many of my colleagues. They have taught me how to use SAP R3 and I have learnt more advanced skills on excel. I have also attended a six sigma course in which I found very useful and interesting. The six sigma course involved teaching us about many different processes and how we could approach them differently. We looked a lot at what tasks don't add value to the business and how we could save time and money. I recently attended a 2 day training session where we was given a process that currently exists, and we spoke about how we could change this process. I found this really interesting and learnt a lot about how to save time and money for the business.

I love my programme. The teams I have worked with have been so nice, helpful and approachable. I have had a good range of activities to complete and have learnt so many new skills. This programme has been better than what I expected and I have had so much fun. I enjoy the work I'm given because it's challenging and interesting.

I feel really valued by TFL. I am given a lot of responsibility which I like because it means I always have something to do. We have 2 reviews per placement which allows our placements managers to tell us what we are doing well and what we can improve on. In my experience, these reviews have been very good and it's nice to hear really good feedback about how you are working within the team.

My programme was well structured. When I start my placements I had a good level of training to enable me to carry out my tasks. I have also had amazing support throughout my programme from my buddy, line manager, placement manager and all my colleagues. We have a really good structure for studying. We attend college for one day a week for 4/5 weeks. This day is a week day so we go to college instead of work that day. We also get a day off before our exam which is really useful as it allows us to revise everything before our exam. One thing that could be improved is the organisation for when we start the apprenticeship. When I started, my SAP wasn't working and they hadn't got me access to the files I need. So to make my apprenticeship even better, they could ensure that everything is ready for when I start to ensure there are no days wasted.

BPP has been my training provider. It has been a very mixed experience for me. At the start the organisation and structure was poor. We were given an induction video to watch, this was suppose to explain exactly what the course was going to entail and what was going to happen. However the video kept buffering and then turning off, so from the start we were left very confused. The first course we had the tutor was quite poor and really rushed the lessons. I found it very hard and had to teach myself some of the chapters. Our second course, our tutor was a lot better and he took his time and taught the chapters very well.

During my apprenticeship I have had a lot of support. From our first day we were given a buddy. Our buddies were the apprentices that had just started their second year. This was great for me as my buddy had experienced everything I was about to experience and therefore he could answer a lot of my questions and he could give me advise on what he would have done differently. My line manager has also been very supportive. We have one to one meetings every four weeks to talk about how my placement and exams are going and to talk about any concerns I may have. Both my placement managers have also given me a lot of support and helped me out when I was unsure.

I believe the salary and benefits are very good. When I was applying for apprenticeships, I was worried about what salary would be offered and in many apprenticeships they offered a very low salary. However TFL offered a very good salary which I have found very nice. It covers all my costs and also allows me to save. The free oyster card is a massive benefit too. Not only do you save thousands of pounds, someone in your household can also benefit from this. I also love the fact that we can already pay into out pension, which in the long run will benefit us massively.

I have attended a couple of outside work events. For example Christmas party. This is a really nice thing to do as it allows you to be able to spend time with work colleagues in a relaxed environment. During exams, you don't get much time to do stuff outside of work and you will need to study in the evenings after work. However when you don't have exams you have your evenings free and I had time to meet with friends and carry on with sports.

Yes

In my experience TFL has been an amazing company to work for. Not only is the salary and benefits great, the apprentice programme is also extremely interesting and enjoyable. You get to work in many different teams and meet great people who will massively help you out. You are given so much training internal and external and you learn so many new skills.

As apprenticeships are becoming more competitive, the application process is tough, so you must be prepared. Ensure your CV is well structured and include all your previous experience and qualifications. The first step for me was the online tests, these are tough and be prepared to go at a fast pace. On my assessment day, we have to present a presentation, participate in a group activity and have an interview. This is a long and intense day, ensure you have prepared for the presentation and the interview. I would definitely recommend applying for TFL as it's an amazing experience and if you work hard, you will be given many amazing opportunities in the future.