HR and Internal Comms Apprentice Review

My Role is a HR and Internal Communications apprentice. I work in HR in Data Centre Services here at Colt, reporting to oour HR Business Partner. On a day to day basis, the activities of my role can very, depending on business activity. However, i do have a day to day activity list that i need to carry out. This includes Onboarding of new joiners, working on our intranet, co ordinating trips for members of staff to our data centres and assisting with our IT systems.

I have learnt various different skills since the beginning of my journey with Colt. Personally, I have developed my interpersonal skills, co ordinating skills, organisational skills and communication skills the most. This is due to the activites that i have undertaken and continue to manage. For example, engaging with external bodies and senior members in the business, has taught me how to engage with certain members in a certain way.

I enjoy my programme very much. I think it is a perfect first job for me, as i came from Sixth Form into the working enviroment. The business is a very good business to work for and the people are very friendly and welcoming to new joiners. I do not regret my decision to start an apprenticeship programme and i think it provides me with the right amount of exposure and knowledge. Both from my working side and studies side.

I think my programme is well organised. Despite starting my studying late, i have started my assignments without an issue, having support from both my learning and development coach and also my line manager. I work 4 days a week, and study 1 day a week, which helps me to organise my work week and work load effectively.

I receive support from my employer when it is needed, or i want extra support. I also have support from the talent acqusition manager in Colt Core who manages the Apprenticeship Cohort. Whenever i need help, i know who to ask and anyone who i do ask is always happy to help and does not have an issue with providing me with the help i need.

I have an assigned learning and development coach that i have had meetings with face to face and communicate with regularly via email. I also have apps that i can download on my phone to help toward my qualification and manage my tasks each week. Along with this, i receive access to the CIPD website as i have a membership with them which includes various different books covering multiple topics and HR tools.

I feel my qualification helps with my job role as alot of what i study in my assignments relates to my role, which includes various different tasks and projects. Also, it provides me with knowledge that i can apply to my daily work and projects that helps me to improve my performance and knowledge in the areas.

My work offers various different extra curricular activities including bike rides around different areas of the world, the "ACE" awards which congratulates employees that have been recognised by their colleuges for going above and beyond in their role at Colt. Also, Colt hold various networking events such as the "Women in Tech" event that i attended in November. These take place at my work, in the Hub which is aqn area that includes a cafe, seats and games for all employees.

Yes

I would recommend Colt to a friend because they are a good company, with a clear vision that is still evolving and growing. This creates space for opportunity and even if you are an apprentice, you can still make suggestions and contribute ideas to the business moving forward. It also has all the right support in place to help you kick start your career.

Advice that i would give to others applying to Colt would be to ensure they have researched the company. This is something that i had carried out myself and found useful in interviews and answering questions. Also, the difference between Colt DCS and Colt Core and this is something that many new employees get confused with when they first start.