Advanced Apprentice Review

I started at Fujitsu as a Business Administration Apprentice with the prospect of, once completing my apprenticeship, becoming an IT project manager. My daily tasks can include setting up meetings, creating and amending documentation, managing very small projects to get used to project management (e.g. delegating tasks, holding fortnightly project checkpoint reviews, presenting the project to the programme managers, etc). I interact mostly with my line manager who is also a project and team manager, who is also my mentor and helps me run projects.

Considering that I work on IT projects and do not come from a project management background, I have learned a lot about project approaches and methodologies. I wrote an internal paper in project management (why moving from waterfall to agile project approaches would be better) and won a commendation for the paper. I have also taken part in high level IT courses to understand the operating system that we maintain and innovate, which I have certificates for. I have also greatly improved in organisation skills, public speaking and communication skills, and writing skills as well.

What I enjoy about working at Fujitsu, or at the Manchester office, is the willingness of everyone to help. Even though most of my colleagues are very experienced in their roles and are senior developers, managers, etc., they take the time to give guidance, help and instruction to me as a junior apprentice, which I have found to be so encouraging. It is a very low stress environment also, which is comfortable and easy to settle into, and the company cares a lot for our wellbeing and safety. The apprenticeship programme still seems to be getting off its feet, and the operating system can be quite complex to understand and work roles seem to be quite undefined, which has lead to confusion among my peers. I think that the business area I am in can work on this further, but I am glad I am a part of Fujitsu.

I certainly learned a lot on the job and from experiences in meetings, courses related to the operating system we maintain, etc. I had no tasks were delegated to me for the first few months which meant I was sitting around a lot. As I understood more about the operating system, as well as project processes and so on, the more involved I could get. There is an induction plan which my manager and I went through, that helped me to become more a part of the team. I would say that the programme is organised and structured in a sense, depending on who your mentor is.

Fujitsu has been very helpful to me as an employee, such as providing Cycle to Work schemes to an app that gives health advice when I struggled with migraines. My manager has been the best that I could ask for - she is very helpful and patient in me learning about project management and answering my questions; she is encouraging when I do something well and also very kind yet forward when I make a mistake. She has been one of the best parts of this apprenticeship for me.

For me, I would not say that the Business Administration Level 3 qualification that I did felt worthwhile or well structured. I did get a good grade at the end of the qualification, but the tasks that I was given to did not seem to fit what I was doing very well, and I was instructed to write pieces simply to tick off criteria towards attempting to achieve a high grade rather than its importance to my role itself. The induction was good, and I learnt a lot through courses and asking questions and meetings, less by studying per say (so learnt by experience more than anything). The programme led by my training provider was okay, but wouldn't recommend to others. The support was okay, but I felt quite unprepared for the exam at the end considering that it was not based much on the tasks that I had done throughout the apprenticeship.

I do not think that the qualification (Level 3 Business Administration) helped me much in my day to day role. For example, there was a task to write on social media in our workplace, though I am not apart of any Fujitsu social media accounts to participate in this. I have largely forgotten much of what I have done, and learned so much more from Learning and Development activities and soft skills learning activities within the business itself, rather than from the training provider or the qualification.

There are some extra curricular activities that I have been able to get involved in at Fujitsu. There is a gym in one of the office buildings at a reasonable price per month. There are two Christmas dinners, one in the cafeteria, one at a nearby restaurant. There is a volunteer opportunity every year to help take down marquees for a trust after its event has finished. There are many other volunteer opportunities to take part in throughout the year and also I took part in a Santa Run for charity last year December. I am a Christian so I am involved with my church, and I enjoy reading, etc.

Yes

I would recommend Fujitsu to anyone who is interested in becoming a project manager or software developer, etc., and mostly has a strong willingness to learn and grow in different areas not even specific to the role they applied for. Fujitsu, and the Manchester office, is very welcoming to junior talent looking to start off in their careers.

I would say most importantly to be yourself. I would also say to do a lot of research as well. I am thankful to have the apprenticeship experience I have had so far, but I believe if I did more research on the role and the operating system that this business area maintains, I would have faired better or felt more comfortable in knowing why I wanted to work there.