Apprentice Analyst Review

In my role I support scheme management, investment and actuarial consulting teams within pensions consulting. The work is ver varied but includes preparing agendas and papers, attending and writing minutes for trustee meetings, taking control of the monthly billing proccess, regular reporting to clients, annual scheme returns and other ad-hoc tasks.

Over the period of the apprenticeship I am taking the ADRP (Advanced Diploma in Retirement Provision) exams with the PMI, the content is relevent to the role and having taken two (of the eight) exams and working for 18 months I have learnt a huge amount about pension schemes and how they are operated within the UK.

Overall I enjoy the job and the role I have, it has been hard work to juggle working and studying especially during the recent lockdowns and working from home. The company has a strong culture and we have had a number of social events (including quizzes cocktail making and pizza making) to keep morale up over the last year.

The structure is reasonable well organised, over the Covid pandemic there had to be slight adjustments to the programme as an exam sitting was cancelled however i feel the Growth company and Mercer dealt with this well. I have a number of people who I can contact throughout my apprenticeship including a representative from the Growth company who I have regualar catch ups with.

Mercer has a well structured HR system with people managers (who I have regular catch ups with) and fortnightly office catch ups. There is a welcomming attitude within the comany and I feel I can speak to any of my colleauges about issues I may be having. One part I found helpful was that each apprentice was assigned a 'Buddy' this was someone who was on your level and could answer any informal questions and provide support in the first few months and beyond.

For any non exam based work I receive a lot of support from the Growth company and can approach them regarding any issues I may have. However, in relation to the exams support is minimal there is no teaching for the exams all the information is learnt through textbooks from the PMI.

The content of the exams is generally relevent for the job role and equally the job helps understanding of the exams we take. I beleive that by the end of the apprentceship I will have a very detailed knowledge of the pensions system within the UK and think this will be a huge benefit for my career.

Since joining Mercer I have been part of the social committee and the 'Culture Team' this has given me a great oppurtunity to get to know as many people as possible in the Office. This has been harder over lockdown but organising socials has been hugely important. When we work from the office there is also a weekly running club that can be attended by anyone from the office.

Yes

I work within Mercer which is a subsidery of Marsh and McLennan. I would reccomend Mercer as they have a strong company culture and have made me feel very welcome since joining. The benefits within the company (helth insurance, cheaper gym memberships and flexible holidays) are also a huge positive.

I would reccomend gaining as much experience as possible in relevent jobs/ experiences to back up your CV. It helps if you approach the interview proccess with confidence. The assesment centre was reasonably straight forward but I would recommend preparing for all elements as much as possible and practicing common interview questions.