Rating

8/10
  • 1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
  • I work on the trade marketing team, specifically for AV products. I work closely with the Trade Marketing Account Manager (my manager) to plan and coordinate campaigns. Frequent communication with brands to meet their needs and make sure their onsite and offsite marketing is carried out how they would like. In my role, my day to day activities are never the same which is something that I really enjoy. I understand the role of Trade Marketing to be the middle man between all over marketing departments and the brands, so there is always a lot to do and varied tasks to carry out from reporting on past manufacturer campaigns to send over to them to working with the products team on creating the best possible product pages that are most effective for our target market.

    8/10

  • 2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
  • in my 7 months at AO I have improved and developed a variety of different skills massively. I am now a much more confident individual and my communication skills: written, typed and verbal have all massively benefited from having to contact an abundance of different stakeholders being the main part of my role. I have also massively expanded my digital marketing knowledge from working with all the different marketing departments and this improves on a weekly basis with the different tasks I have to carry out or when I work with new departments.

    9/10

  • 3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
  • I really do enjoy my problem. At first it was a big jump from college and have no previous marketing or business job experience, which of course I knew it was going to be but there was so much that I needed to learn and the first couple of weeks/months was about getting to grips with my expansive role and understanding the business and how it operates. Juggling this with the apprenticeship side in terms of off-the-job hours which has to be 20% of my working week and completing apprenticeship tasks and workshops was quite difficult. I am very grateful of my opportunity in this role though and the hard work is all worth it with the exposure and knowledge I am gaining every day that university would have never given to me.

    8/10

  • 4. How well organised/structured is your programme?
  • My program seems to be well structured but at times seems to change or there isn't 100% clarity on how or when the program will be completed. However, I feel that there is sufficient training and support from my mentor at all times whenever it is needed. We are also well informed in good time about workshop sessions or tasks and when they need to be completed by. We also get feedback on our tasks quite quickly and it is clear what I need to do if any amends are given.

    7/10

  • 5. How much support do you receive from your employer?
  • There is support from AO. If there is ever a lot to do or I have free time, I am able to book some time out in order to complete and work on my apprenticeship task or off-the-job hours. Our internal mentor also hosts monthly sessions where we work on skills like: time management, resilience and other important skills we needs for the role like Excel training or training on other programs.

    7/10

  • 6. How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
  • There is a lot of support from Professional Academy, regular emails have been sent since these strange times have started which keep us updated on how the apprenticeship will still be run throughout the pandemic. We are ensured that our apprenticeship will still be completed properly and we are able to still complete all tasks, complete workshops and one to one sessions remotely from home. We can also contact Professional Academy at any time via Email if we have any questions or queries.

    8/10

  • 6. How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
  • There is a lot of support from Professional Academy, regular emails have been sent since these strange times have started which keep us updated on how the apprenticeship will still be run throughout the pandemic. We are ensured that our apprenticeship will still be completed properly and we are able to still complete all tasks, complete workshops and one to one sessions remotely from home. We can also contact Professional Academy at any time via Email if we have any questions or queries.

    8/10

  • 7. How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
  • My qualification massively improves my performance within my Trade Marketing role at AO. Every workshop session that I carry out I expand my marketing knowledge much further and understand more about the wider marketing departments that I am maybe not as familiar with. It also helps me to be able to always consider the customers throughout everything I do in my role which is imperative in a role like this. Learning about marketing structures and models also help me when planning for marketing to go ahead and to structure any tasks or plans that I complete in my role.

    9/10

  • 8. Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
  • Yes, there has been a couple in my time at AO. But of course, with recent events I have been working from home for over a month now so it is hard to get these sort of events to happen remotely. Although we have been brought together with all the apprentices multiple times for social events and to get to know each other more. Me and all other apprentices at AO took part in a opportunity where we were able to raise money for a local charity that helps out unfortunate young people, Bolton Lads and Girls Club. Through completing various tasks like raffles, tournaments and others at work over a month period we managed to raise over £4,000 for the charity which was a great achievement and a fantastic extra-curricular activity to get involved in and get more exposure within the business.

    8/10

  • 9a. Would you recommend AO to a friend?
  • Yes


  • 9b. Why?
  • I can't really compare AO to any other office environment as this is the only one that I've worked in, but I imagine this is much different to any other office and focused on the employees more than most businesses. We are cared for massively and even though I am an apprentice I always feel like I have a say in any decisions that are made and am able to out my ideas forward. 'One AO' is not just a nice statement that is said, it really does feel true and that everyone is working together for the same goal and no matter what department you are in.


  • 10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to AO?
  • Make sure that you learn and understand the value and the purpose of the business as they really focus on them and consider them at all times no matter what is being carried out. If these values are not for you and that's something that sticks out to you straight away then AO probably isn't for you which is fine. Make sure that in assessment centers or interviews that you are just being yourself and trying to display the values where you can. Just be you and have fun! The assessment centers and interviews are fun and quite relaxed which help you to not be nervous and perform your best.


Details

Higher Level Apprenticeship

Marketing

Bolton, Greater Manchester

April 2020


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