Business administrator Review

Working in the Technical Centre, I carry out daily administrative functions like raising job cards, providing work for Technicians, invoicing etc... I organise the conversion of police cars for 8 different police forces, ordering parts and arranging delivery for them. I also organise the preparation of press cars in which the Technical Centre gets ready for press loans and car launches.

Every day I learn new skills. I have a greater understanding of using IT. This is gradually picked up over time learning new shortcuts to save time. I also went on an excel course which helped with my knowledge on excel. I have learnt how to prioritise work, when the work load gets too much I know which jobs should take priority and which can be left a while. This also shows that I have developed good skills with time management.

I extremely enjoy the programme as a whole. I never thought when joining I would be given so many opportunities to improve my skills inside and outside of work. There have been times when there is a lot of pressure on me in work due to absences but that only spurred me on to try and improve myself and to prove to my manager that I play a pivotal part in my department.

My assessor meets me every 3 months, he sets clear objectives when with me with clear time scales. When coming in, he speaks to my manager and goes through where I am in terms of work in both the work place and my course. There was some confusion in the handover period from 2nd to 3rd year but I have managed to catch up due to realistic deadlines.

For a majority of the time the support from my manager is extremely good. He knows who I should talk to if I have problems and he will always guide me to achieve goals. He sets me a lot of challenges in which may seem daunting to begin with but he makes sure that I have the tools to achieve it. That is something in which I am very grateful for.

My assessor always tells me to email him if I get stuck with any questions and in the past I have and within a few days he replies. Sometimes it is difficult to get the grasp of questions and it would help if I saw him face to face. However, this is difficult because our assessors travel all over the country looking after different apprentices.

I do not feel that the qualification helps me perform better in my role. However, it does open my eyes to some other aspects of the business and it is interesting getting a feel for what it is like working in different departments by answering the questions that are set.

There are a few social activities that go on in our work place. Maybe once or twice a year a group of us get together and do something. This is limited to just in our department as we are in a separate building to the rest of the company. I think that it is a good idea setting up more extra-curricular activities with people that are in the same position as you.

Yes

PSA Group gives you work experience at the highest level. I will come out of my 3 years as a completely different person that first walked through the doors. The responsibility that you are given allows you to either make the most of it or not capitalise on the opportunity. If all goes well and you prove that you have done enough for a full time job then there are so many different opportunities for you later in life.

Seize the opportunity that you are given. There are not many other places in which have such good benefits and give you so much opportunity. If you come into the job with a bad mind set then you will not achieve what you are capable of. Come in to work every day and try your hardest, make good impressions and always stay positive.