Business Administration Apprentice Review

My job title is a business administration apprentice for Unilever. I work in the Persil brand team in the Marketing department for the UK. Daily activities include raising DO's, admin work i.e booking meeting rooms, printing documents as well as working on brand projects.

Since starting the apprenticeship, I have learnt many new skills. Prioritisation is one skill that is very important in this job role as I am sometimes given lots of jobs to complete at once so I will need to prioritise jobs which will need completing sooner than others. In addition, I have also improved my time management and organisation skills whilst working here.

I am thoroughly enjoying the apprenticeship programme. There is lots of projects I am working on and I feel like I am given lots of responsibility in my job role to progress and work towards my business administration qualification. The team that I work in are all very helpful and friendly and have really made me feel welcome. I really do enjoy coming to work everyday which is something that not a lot of people can say!

I feel very valued by Unilever. Unilever is a very good example of a company that looks after it's employees. Flexible working hours, a free gym on site, and working from home on Fridays are just some of the ways that Unilever values it's employees work life and social life.

I think the business administration programme is very well structured. The induction was very straightforward and modules were clearly outlined. I feel like I have a lot of support from my apprenticeship provider as well as the Apprentice Employment Agency, in which I have regular monthly meetings to discuss how I am getting on and any questions or queries I may have about the programme.

I receive a lot of support from my training provider. Regular calls with regards to introducing new modules are regularly scheduled to make sure I am aligned with my coursework and timings. I also have monthly Skype calls with the training provider who virtually teach the modules which contribute to my apprenticeship programme. Thee are recorded so I ca re watch them which is very useful.

I receive lot of support from my employer. I am in regular contact with the Apprentice Employment Agency in terms of my progress and how I am getting on with my apprenticeship study and on the job training. With general problems I know who to turn to for help and I have access to lots of online support platforms which I can use.

I think the salary meets my cost very well. Compared to the average apprenticeship salary, Unilever's is very high. Unilever also expense back travel charges which may need to be paid for if commuting to another office for work, meetings or training etc. I find that the salary I get also allows me to save money every month which I wasn't able to do in my previous job.

Outise of work there are lots of opportunities to be involved with the community and company events. The free gym along with the gym classes is one example of an opportunity for Unilever employees to be involved with outside work. Employees are able to go to the gym any time during their working day to relieve stress and get away from work for a short while! This is very useful to me as I am a member of a gym outside of work however can now use the gym at work instead!

Yes

I would recommend Unilever to a friend as they are a great company to work for and have many opportunities and events to get involved in both inside of work and outside. Since joining Unilever, I have built up both my business skills and personal skills which has benefitted me on a social scale as well as in the business environment.

If I could give tips to others applying to Unilever it would be to be yourself and always ask questions even if they do sound silly! Unilever looks for people who are genuine and are willing to learn. The assessment day is very well structured and nothing to worry about, as long as you relax and take everything as it comes, Unilever would be more than willing to take you onboard!