Business support apprentice Review

Over the apprenticeship I have been in different job roles - when I first started I did work for the NSCT team where I would assign incidents to colleagues for them to complete customers problems - moving on from this I joined the data networks team. In this job role, I was then assigned incidents to do with business ports and routers where the customer would tell me if they were experiencing issues and I would remotely fix them. More recently I am in the 'MOJ' team supporting professional court user wifi - in this role, I answer the phone to customers who are experiencing issues and troubleshoot them through this.

The new skills I have developed involve being able to work closely with switches and routers and be able to identify network issues and begin to fix them. I would also say I have learned how to develop my communication skills recently with being placed in a first line role and before I found it difficult to speak to people over the phone.

I have enjoyed the opportunity of the programme, however, I would say it has been poorly executed - by this I mean there has been no structure to what I would be doing over the apprenticeship and instead, moving me wherever, whenever. However, I have learned some good skills and foundations I feel I could apply in other job roles.

I would not say it has been very well organized at all. From the beginning, it was unknown what the managers planned to do with me and where I would be moving in the future. It seemed they had little knowledge of what an apprentice should be doing and how to enhance this experience the most for me.

I receive a lot of support from BT - this is a great company to work for in the respect that they understand real life issues and do not just see you as someone who can easily be replaced. There is real help that BT provides in time of need and as simple as speaking to your line manager or looking on BT documents to find these.

In my opinion, the training you get when working towards your qualification is poor. All of the modules are shoved at you very quickly, so instead of actually learning, you are more just remembering enough to get your course work done so you can jam the rest of it in on time. I would have appreciated longer to actually take in and understand the aspects of telecommunications.

Not very - most modules on the qualification had little to no transferability in my normal day to day job and skills I would need to learn. I would say only about one module actually applied to what I do in my job role. However, extra knowledge is always welcome. There was too much stuff on the past rather than what is happening in the present (as with all exams).

From what I have come to understand each year my work holds a table tennis tournament where people are free to go watch on their breaks and it is announced through an email to the building. As well as this, there is also a gym in my building which I know many people attend.

Yes

I think BT is an excellent employer to work for, this is because they truly do try to help their people and are very fair (From what I've seen) in how they treat you. I always feel like I am supported and if I have an issue there will be some sort of process designed to help make it easier. They are also extremely fair on their pay especially for an apprentice - with much above minimum wage making it easy to live comfortably as you would in a normal job role but still progress your career at the same time. I feel very fortunate.

Know your onions! The interview comes in 4 steps - Applying, situational strengths test, video interview, then your group interview. Each one of these is tough to get through - for the video interview my best advice is to do your research and ensure you know what you are talking about, do some looking up on the past of BT to show why you are keen to join and also make sure you can repeat in detail the job role you are applying for and why it would be good for you. For the group interview, be confident and stand out without overshadowing others - show teamwork and leadership all in one.