Secretarial Apprentice Review

Being part of the Secretarial team involves taking on a wide range of tasks day-to-day, whether this be adhoc or set tasks. Tasks can vary from being around the office, doing tasks such as stationary checks, assisting the reception team and postage processing; to online tasks, i.e meeting notes, research tasks and ordering stationary.

Coming into BW as 16 year old, school leaver, I have learnt/ developed many skills, including time management, multi-tasking and general office behaviours. As this was my first full time role and first time being in a corporate working environment I had lots to learn, with the help of my team and everyone in the company it was easy to adjust.

I thoroughly enjoyed the apprenticeship throughout the 18 months.

Coming in as the first Secretarial apprentice I think the apprenticeship was well organised, I was given all the appropriate training and tools to enable me to do my job. With the complication of COVID-19 the structure and tasks that I would do were different to what we expected when I started but from this I believe I picked up different skills that I wouldn't have if I had never worked from home.

I received a great level of support from my team and all in BW. I was mentored by my team to learn how to use all the machinery and systems, I also received online training to learn the company policies and gain general training.

My assessor, other than some time/date issues early on, was great; she was on hand to help where needed and provided me with resources where applicable. The college itself could have been better, classes could have been structured better to help us gain the most knowledge from them.

I think the resources that were available to me were great and very useful, they included a wide range of information and techniques that I could use day-to-day. I think attending the college was not all that useful and I would have benefitted more from just getting more time with my assessor.

There are some activities to get involved in at work but due to COVID-19 majority have been put on hold. Secretarial have held Christmas parties and away days in the past to help with team interaction.

Yes

Barnett Waddingham is a friendly and professional company that have great values to make all employees feel appreciated.

Come to the interview prepared but do not be scared, everyone at BW is friendly and always willing to help you. Be confident and be yourself and you will be fine!