IT Project Administrator Review

The tasks which I do vary a lot as I go from taking notes/minutes in meetings, to resourcing people onto projects, to creating timelines/plans for projects in Excel, to capacity reports, to setting up JIRA stories which are just a few examples of the vast amount of things that I do. There are lots of projects which you’ll find will be interested in having you as a resource and the tasks that they want you to do are different and it is exciting when being put on a project to see what tasks you will have to do.

The time I have been here has helped me build a lot of skills in terms of behaving and working in an office environment as well as stepping out of my comfort zone quite regularly which is a good test of my skills and can help develop skills in which I may be lacking in. Excel skills have been developed with by participating in an Excel course. I have also studied for an passed London Market 1 to give me an insurance background which may not be put in practice as I work in IT but is still good to have. I have mainly learnt about projects and the different aspects and planning sides of them which get put into consideration.

This programme has exceeded expectations in terms of the work that I am assigned to as I am getting more and more involved in projects and pushed out of my comfort zone to new challenges regularly. I am now running a small change which is a coordinator type task which is the level above me (administrator). The companies atmosphere is fantastic and is very friendly and family like which brings the best out of me.

People here are very approachable and offer to spend time to chat about anything new and interesting which you may not understand. The step up from college to work life is good here as you are eased into it which has helped me settle in. My manager and I meet once a week and she keeps me updated on the feedback which she receives from people I work with showing that I am getting appreciated.

The programme started with an induction with the other apprentices with introductions into insurance and charity work. This was good to help meet and break the ice with the other apprentices although at the time I was very eager to meet my actual IT team. The training provided by my IT team has helped me come up to speed to what my role is and helps me gain knowledge in projects and tasks which is very good. In terms of training towards the apprenticeship qualification - There is not much contact with the 3rd party training provider which I am surprised about and I thought there would be a lot more to ensure I am getting trained.

The tutor and I meet every month and we chat about how I am getting along and about the specification I need to meet to get my qualification. These meetings are an hour long and sometimes I receive work to do to ensure those points are hit. I am unsure on my progress on whether I am ahead/behind in building the portfolio. This side of the apprenticeship is my least favourite as I feel it disconnects from my real job as I work in IT projects and the qualification is for Business Administration and if the qualification was a more Project centric one - this may feel more valuable and relevant. My trainer does provide me with help if needed and does give me some advice too which is helpful.

I receive a lot of support from my manager as when I raise problems with her, she is very good at helping and mitigating them. The HR team were also very helpful in terms of the onboarding process and helped me settle in fast. My team and IT in general are all willing to help when I need it and it's great to have that. My mentor is also willing to help when I need it to although yet again the contact between me and my mentor is not constant.

My salary meets my needs for all aspects of living. Travel from where I live does take a huge chunk of my money but Hiscox did help in the fact that they have provided me a loan which I pay off through my wages.

There are many events that I can get involved in outside of work.

Yes

It is a very good company to get your first job and people here are very approachable and offer to spend time to chat about anything new and interesting which you may not understand. The step up from college to work life is good here as you are eased into it which has helped me settle in. Learning about projects is also very interesting and the career path to working in the management side of them is definitely achievable.

My advice to anyone wanting to become an apprentice is that – Work your socks off at 100% and ask questions – hard work and a desire to learn more doesn’t go unnoticed here at Hiscox and will help you succeed and get better opportunities as this will set good impressions.