Equities Apprentice Review

I work within Equities on the Platform Sales Team. We are central to the hedge fund landscape as we function as a prime broker allowing funds to access stocks and securities they wish to buy or sell in the market. I regularly work on the new launches and prospects within the hedge fund landscape and enjoy learning about how a hedge fund can be created.

I have learnt many new skills whilst at UBS and certainly developed existing ones. My excel skills have been enhanced allowing me to complete spreadsheets and data processing much more efficiently. I have new networking skills enhancing the relationships I have across the bank and also my presentation and communications skills have been developed as a result of the many meetings I help to co-ordinate.

I highly enjoy my program as a result of the great culture at UBS. My team are very inclusive and willing to help me learn the necessary knowledge which means I am able to further understand my job role. This knowledge is also enhanced by taking qualifications whilst working. The networking opportunities have led to a greater feeling of inclusion.

My program is well organised. We have three exams across the the first year to gain our IOC along with skills enhancing workshops. We then have the opportunity to go on to do a degree, the CFA or both combined. This structure has allowed me to maintain a clear timeline of when I will hopefully be gaining such qualifications.

I receive lots of support from my employer. We have weekly meetings with our line manager so they can help us maintain the correct progress for our apprenticeship. The skills workshops organised by our employer help us new joiners to the industry to develop key skills. We also have a committee for the apprentices which is helping us to network and further understand the financial industry across the bank.

We receive lots of support from our training provider. We have a meeting every three months with our skills coach to ensure our qualifications are being completed in line with our everyday work. We also have many help channels through the online portal to be able to ask any questions on the content for our exams.

I feel my qualification is very helpful to my job role. I regularly hear a lot of the content I learn from my exams on a daily basis within my role. As a part of my exams I learn about the different products across equities, derivatives, foreign exchange, fixed income etc. and I also learn about the necessary regulation which needs to be followed.

UBS offer many different extra-curricular activities. We have different actions stream for volunteering opportunities but also many different networks with different core values. They organise lots of events to help us build our networks but also social events that we can get involved with. The apprentices also have some social events too.

Yes

The opportunity that UBS is providing us with is amazing. We are working for a leading bank, gaining industry recognized qualifications and getting used to life at work all from a young age. The culture at UBS is also very attractive, since I started everyone has been very inclusive and willing to help when I needed it.

When applying ensure you research the different areas of the bank and apply to the one that appeals most to you. Also ensure you research into UBS and their principles. Try to think of questions you may be asked in the interview and prepare an answer with clear examples for each of them.