Compliance Higher Apprentice Review

I am a Compliance Officer and I get involved in everyday BAU tasks such as supporting the front office trading desks with any compliance queries they may have. I also carry out a number of other tasks like regulatory reviews or exchange inquiries, etc.

I have gained a stronger understanding of the financial industry as a whole, ranging from retail to investments and financial markets. Having already graduated in Law in 2016, I was probably a slight step above my apprentice peers due to skills being attained from university.

I absolutely love the everyday work aspect of my programme. I find the educational aspect of the programme being less applicable than some other qualifications we could have completed as Compliance Officers. An example of this would be ICA qualifications.

The programme is fairly structured, however there is reliance and trust on the apprentices to ensure they were actually completing their studies - which I think is fair as we are all adults.

I receive a lot of support from my employers, they have always supported my development.

Our training provider arranged 4 workshops (in total) throughout the first 2 modules of the qualifications. This support was useful, but not as common as it could be.

I feel like there is little performance enhancing abilities in my qualification for my day to day work. I feel like a more useful targetted qualification would have been a better option (i.e. ICA).

My workplace provides a vast number of opportunities to get involved in extra-curricular activies such as sports or hobbies. They facilitate and allow colleagues to advertise social clubs and sports teams on the intranet via a specific portal. In addition, there are also a number of networking events available.

Yes

Barclays have given me the opportunity to develop as a young professional within the financial services industry. In addition, the optional benefits offered are good (i.e. Pension Schemes, Medical Cover Schemes, etc). Furthermore, Barclays promote professional development and I have always felt supported by my peers and management.

When applying for Barclays, it is important to know the role you are applying for and what it consists of. I would recommend showing your personality (in the forms of hobbies etc) on your cv, showing that you're not only good professionally, but an all rounded person.