Degree Apprentice Review

Data Analyst, Release Manager, Defect Manager, PMO Support, Functional Lead (It mainly depends what my role is within a project). Every project is a different experience and the days often change. Day-to-day currently I am working with the PMs of the project to come up with a good system that everyone follows so that there is minimal confusions as to where we are as a project, what our progress is, issues can be solved/approached with greater ease. I work a lot on excel and have therefore been also teaching myself visual basic to prepare trackers that will be used throughout the project's duration.

Yes, many. I have improved immensely in Excel, I have increased my knowledge of Salesforce, how the different cloud platforms work and how they could interact with each other. I have learnt how to do functional testing as well as defect management, validating defects and assuring they are fixed at a constant high rate and high quality. I have improved in soft skills such as teamwork, ability to focus and multitask between various priorities, ability to prioritize tasks at meet deadlines without downing in work. - this is all from the work aspect of things. University has not been as positive however I have learnt about organisation formations, different ways in which companies are run and the pros and cons of these various approaches. I've learnt how to code in Java, HTML, CSS, SQL, run commands in Linux.

I enjoy the programme a lot. I am happy to be busy and to constantly be learning new things. The quality of teaching at the university could be better, this has been something which I have struggled with greatly these past two years. Especially due to some learning difficulties I have (specifically dyslexia), the format and quality of slides and lectures have made studying increasingly difficult and a decrease in motivation and confidence.

In my opinion it is very well organised. Having one day at university per week is a great way for me to break up my week in a healthy way. The two week block weeks throughout the year have improved greatly. There are some strong correlations between the content studied at university and that put into practice when on project work which is very useful. We also have a healthy number of days holiday. Sometime organizing annual leave is challenging as we cannot miss university but in the summer we also have a 2 week block week and projects rarely allow people to take more than 2/3 weeks off leave.

Depending on the project the answer to this question varies. I have had many very positive experiences and some less positive. In the difficult situations, however, I did receive a lot of support from my Career Councillor and my mentor as well as other contacts I have made. This really helped me to grow and to understand different ways to deal with issues in a professional and healthy manner.

Training at university has not been great. Lecturers have tended to speak and teach in a rather unclear way. At work I have had very little support in terms of training. This has been an aspect where I have been fairly independent.

There is a strong link between the two as mentioned in a previous answer. Everything learnt will at one point or another come to be very useful and adds to my knowledge of different aspect of the project. It definitely assists me in having a greater understanding a project, what the different roles consist of and to appreciate my team members as well as being able to follow with greater ease meetings that I would not have understood a word had it not been for my technical foundation received through my university and block training.

I am heading a mentoring scheme within Cloud First. This is to give apprentices and grads, who have career counselors that are not specialized in the cloud, a contact to help them in more specific areas within the field. The mentors will help their mentee to reach their goals by having monthly meetups and suggesting various training they could do, areas they should look at to achieve personal goals related to Cloud first. It also is a good experience for the mentors who are Level 8s and therefore will become Career Councillors if and when they are promoted to Level 7. I attend various events to promote apprenticeships to secondary school and college students, visiting schools, partaking in speed networking events and Q&A panels, and other similar events. I am also a mental health ally.

Yes

Because, though nothing is perfect, it has been a fantastic experience. I have learnt so much and I have met so many fantastic people. I will not be in debt because of student loans, I have a salary that allows me to travel to fantastic places, I have a better experience and understanding of how a large company works and how to behave professionally and manage my time between work, universities, family and having a social life than most people my age. Furthermore there is something amazing about working with people of all ages and nationalities and talents and to be able to respect and work with them and that they respect and work with you, that you all have a value within the team regardless of age and experience. This has been a highlight to my experience as an apprentice.

Balance and discernment are key. By this I mean, balancing time, tasks, is important. It is very easy to enter into high levels of stress because you were not able to step back, prioritize and take a break. Having a social life is also very important. Higher moral has been proven to increase productivity and quality of work. Also working as a team is VITAL. Everyone have different strengths including yourself. Figure out what peoples strengths are and focus on those. That is the best way to succeed (as well as improving on lesser strengths and weaknesses. Don't be afraid to not know things, and feeling lost and not understanding things. This is completely normal. But be proactive when you need help. Don't be scared to ask for help. Your success is the team's success so if there are people who can help you, reach out to them and be open to help others in need. You will learn more than you realize, you don't have to be a senior manager in order to help someone.