Apprentice CICS System Programmer Review

I work on the transaction processor (CICS on the mainframe), I work alongside project managers to create CICS regions that their teams can test their coding on and monitor the number of transactions coming in and watching for any problems on the processor. I work incidents coming in to make sure it runs smooth.

I have had the opportunity to learn several coding languages, I've been on courses to learn these and have colleagues passing their knowledge on too, it's a nice environment to learn. They want you to learn and be the best you can be. Plenty of hands on experience in working on the mainframe

The apprenticeship work from BPP isn't great, none of it is relevant to my actual role and the people marking the work haven't got a clue what's going on but my time in work is great, I'm learning a lot. I feel like it's setting me up for a secure future for myself and my family.

There is no set programme for the RBS side, my manager is working towards setting this up at the moment so hopefully new apprentices coming in will have a more structured plan to work on, the BPP side is not organised at all and is actually inhibiting moving forward on the programme as a lot of it isn't being marked

I get all the support I could need from my employers, they're honestly 0great. I have health issues and when I needed an operation 7 months ago they were very supportive and kept in touch to make sure I was okay while I was off, they then helped me back to work with a phased return which helped massively.

They're pretty poor to be honest, they're overworked and it shows. The only communication we get is to say they still don't have things in place to get work marked. Our first year finished in October and the work is still not marked when we have already started our second year.

My qualification is not at all relevant to my role. Literally nothing I've done in my first year helps me in my role in the slightest. It's been a lot of work to learn nothing relevant to a real tech role, it's more how to speak to people and take screenshots. It's been frustrating to say the least.

I personally haven't partaken in any extracurricular activities but I know there are lots of opportunities though. I have a busy family life with a new baby so don't have time at the moment to be joining in these type of activities, I will when my son is a bit older and I have some free time on my hands again.

Yes

Great support for the work/life balance. Great support for disabled staff. I have been welcomed with open arms by my team and adjoining teams. There's such a warm atmosphere, everyone speaks to everyone. Plenty of opportunities to build on my skills, both technical skills relevant to my role and chances to network.

Go for it, it's brilliant. Applying for this role has honestly the best decision of my life. I feel really lucky to have landed in a role I love, doing real techy work that I actually enjoy doing, I think that's rare these days. I recommend the apprenticeship in RBS to anyone wanting to get into tech. I didn't have any tech experience but it's setting me up for life.