Research assistant Review

The work is varied and no two days are the same. Predominantly its providing data analysis on recent policy trends from issues affecting monetary and financial stability. The role also involves using technical internal software systems as well as free sourced software such as R to further develop regular tasks as well as one off pieces analysis.

The course has further developed my understanding of certain policy debates (e.g. productivity puzzle) and has allowed me to contribute to them with a far better understanding. One a day to day basis i have used the data analysis model and the statistics module allowed me to better understand what stats i am looking at.

I have enjoyed the experience so far. Although it hasnt been without its teething problems but given it’s the first year of running the course, it has gone better than i would expect. "Lockdown" has caused some disruption in terms of work but given its distance learning, there hasn’t been a great deal of disruption in terms of learning.

Again, there have been some issues with communication but i expect these are associated with it being the first year. Also, almost all Uni comms goes through the Kent Uni email address which i think most apprentices don’t check on a regular basis. The residential was well organised and ran smoothly.

A lot from the employer and its clear to see that they do "care". I have had to be flexible around the study day but they always ensure i can made up the time when less busy. There is also a library at work which help to do after work studying.

The University has been good. The lecturers style can vary a lot e.g. some use PowerPoint heavy lecturers when others favour a more dynamic approach. Also, the portal used (Moodle) is slightly dated and is prone to crashing. i do mostly receive good comments on pieces of work i complete.

Ultimately i think it does help in the long term to have a better understanding of certain concepts and there have been some practical uses for what i have learnt so far. A lot of the content can be rather broad and often it would be better in terms of my job to focus on one area.

There are lots of events in head office from seminars to after work drinks/ socialising events. Due to budget constraints the sports club is being sold after 100 years of being in the Bank of England ownership which is a great lose and the substitutes unlikely to be the same as what it is replacing.

No

It really does depend on the "friend" and approach to work they have. If there was a n/a option I would have selected that option. You will experience a lot of responsibility early on in the job. However, at times it can feel hierarchical when it comes down to key decision making. Wages are below that of the industry average but it does values learning (when you push for it).

It helps if you have a family member already working within the organisation to get your foot in the door. The Bank highly values skills in R to drive the data and analysis programmes so that would be a clear advantage. People with Python skills would also do well to apply for a position.