Apprentice Review

Our programme has a rotational aspect so we are able to experience different departments. On a day to day basis so far, I complete admin based work, speak to clients to get evidence and have regular catch ups with managers to ask for work and understand where we are as a team. As we rotate, I have found my role has been very varied and I will quite often do different things each day.

Yes, In a very short space of time I have learnt lots of new skills and also developed basic skills that I was taught at sixth form.

I find the programme enjoyable, however I think this mainly comes down to the department you are in and also the team. Some work I have done I have really not enjoyed, however I have found a department I have loved working in due to the rotational aspect I got to experience more.

I would say the programme is structured to a certain extent- I think there is a lack of communication between our training provider and ourselves and I also think that the "rotational" part of the programme needs to be reviewed- whilst we get the opportunity to move around, we mainly stay in similar departments and the placements are for a long time (6 months plus) it would be great if we could get exposed to more parts of the business. I also think the resourcing for apprentices needs to be more structured as quite often apprentices are either unassigned or working 60/70 hours a week.

We receive a lot of support from our employer, especially in the first year. I cannot fault them on this.

Little- we have a catch up call maybe every 3 months but its mainly just a reflection on what we have done so far. We often find ourselves panicking before tuition and exams as there is always a huge lack of communication and support. Reflective statements especially were an issue as we had to complete these with no instruction or guidance- most of us had to call around to get help.

So far I have not been able to link my qualification with the department I am in- whilst it does help me recognise key words and terminology, I think the actual work experience teaches me more than the qualification itself- however I believe the qualification will help me in the future, and on future work placements to come.

Yes, however these are not widely advertised. The apprentices mainly organise their own social events themselves.

Yes

They are a great employer, and I have learnt so much from the very short space of time I have been there. The exposure to the corporate world I have had so far, for a school leaver is amazing. I would recommend to anyone looking for an alternative career path to university, the experience, salary, qualification and also social life as there are 80 apprentices in our office, is all exactly what I was looking for.

Be yourself and show why you want to work here, they understand you're going to be nervous so don't panic! Show that you have initiative and want to gain experience in the working world and make the most of every opportunity you get as you will learn a lot.