Retail Sales Apprentice Review

Retail Sales Apprentice. Daily task involve sales support (i.e. booking meetings, client communication, fund knowledge). Interact with other departments internally to access key fund data which is 'at the ready' to distribute to clients. External interactions involve speaking to high end 'VIP' clients and ensure their needs are met to a very high degree. Communication is extremely vital in my role. Responsibilities include all of that of a Sales Support role (see above). Projects I've been in charge of are arranging our fund lunches, and annual conference events - liaising with both clients and the internal teams. Every day I have new tasks to complete, so there is never the opportunity to get bored. Repetitiveness is not an issue. I'm included in any fund meeting with internal/external personnel I wish to attend - my team are very 'on-board' for the development of my skills/knowledge/exposure around he business.

Currently studying for my IOC - Investment Operations Certificate. This is an internal requirement for apprentices in my department. Once this is complete I will immediately move on to study for my IMC - Investment Management Certificate - a highly commendable and sought after qualification. Joining M&G with very limited knowledge, I feel that I now know the fundamentals, and a little bit more, of the industry - especially within my department - Discretionary Sales. I have picked up significantly more skills and information from being in the working environment rather than just reading from a textbook. Having studied at university for a year, and decided to leave and join M&G on an apprenticeship program, I highly recommend considering apprenticeships as both a way of learning, and an entry level to a job you wish to pursue a career in.

Work is extremely enjoyable - mainly because of the welcoming nature of the company. My team are extremely helpful, and quite similar to myself, which has definitely made me feel at home very quickly. If anything, it has exceeded my expectations, as I started off quite apprehensive, but now I definitely know I've made the right choice.

Because of my involvement in all activities I feel a valued member of the team - not just something on the side. I get the same opportunities as everyone else, and am praised for all my efforts, and encouraged when struggling. At first was nervous dealing with external clients, however this is something which I have found comes naturally to me, and have been praised by clients also, for both my efforts and how quickly I've got to grips with the business.

Extremely well organised. Meet a mentor once a month to track my progress both on the job, and the exam progress. Anything assistance I need is always on offer. My managers are completely happy for me to set a side hours on the job for revision for my qualifications. There is a hierarchy within the team, however it is not made to feel like that in the slightest - everyone is always approachable and willing to help.

See my adviser once a month, and she is always available on email or her phone if I need her urgently. Very enthusiastic and willing to help and issue which arises. Sets ambitious but achievable goals, and is very good at giving em a drive to succeed. Makes a big difference having a mentor outside of M&G, knowing their full attention is devoted to you, not other things such as the job.

Support is giving to me by anyone and everyone, whenever I need it. Extremely pleased with this aspect of the apprenticeship. The knowledge from whoever I ask is always to a very high degree, so no question will ever go unanswered. HR offer great support for apprentices - always available when I need them.

I have not yet moved out of home, and commute by coach - so the salary for me is fine. However I feel that it could be an issue if I wished to move out, and take a different method of transport - having to pay for living, daily and travel costs.

Being in sales, I probably have the best opportunity of opportunities outside of work. I often go for client lunches, and attend hospitality events for clients. I can imagine this is probably not the same for all aspects of the apprenticeship, so I gather the fact that I am very privileged. There's a great sports and social community within M&G. I play in a Sales football team, which we put out against external and internal personnel. There is also an internal 5-aside football tournament about once every three months. So ideal for me considering I am very sporty. The internal relationship between all apprentices is exceptional. Great social network, where we meet for lunch once or twice a month, and often go for drinks on Friday evenings. Investment 2020 run the apprenticeship, so we get invites from them when 'learner days' come up. This is very useful - however one thing to recommend was maybe opening more of these opportunities up, and more space at events - places go very quickly and these events are not all too often.

Yes

The atmosphere at M&G is very different to other places. I have done many internships and work placements over the years, and have never felt more welcome and more valued as an employee than I do at M&G. Everyone is treated equally, so you know you can approach people for help, everyone is more than willing.

Get some experience done before you apply. This helps you for a few reasons. Firstly, you don't want to be applying for an apprenticeship in something which doesn't interest you. And also, come interview stage, it will give you more to talk about, and make you stand out from the rest applying for the same position - it is about 100 people going for every one place!