Apprentice Review

On a day to day basis, i am involved gathering requirements from the 'business' and evaluating them. After they have been evaluated, i am in contact with the developers and explain the requirements to them and gather their thoughts and any concerns. Once this is done, the team and I focus on getting the different requirements prioritised and start working on the changes.

At my short time at the bank, i have developed many skills such as presenting and public speaking. Whilst presenting on zoom and in person is very different, zoom presents its own challenges and there are many things i have learned. I have also started learning how to code in JavaScript.

So far, i really do enjoy the programme. My team really involves me in most things they do and set aside time to explain things i don't understand. The team and my line manager are also very understanding and I can go to them for any concerns/problems i may encounter.

The organisation of the programme wasnt great to start off with - mainly as my cohort was the first year for the programme. However as things progress, there looks to be a structure being put together to allow us to learn and devlop our careers as apprentices. For the studying aspect, my manager gives me a whole day and an afternoon off to focus on my university work. The whole organisation has really tried to engage with us as apprentices as the senior people set aside time to speak to us, find out how its going and if we have any problems.

In terms of support, there is more than enough! My manager gets back to me very quickly on things I may need assistance and due to the structure of the team, i feel comfortable to ask anyone for help, no matter the position and level they are at - its a very open door environment. I have also been allocated a mentor who is very senior in the organisation who can help me with my career progression and decision making.

My training provider does provide ample support but I do believe it also varies dependant on the tutor i have for each module. I have a direct line of contact i can reach out to - known as a skills coach, who is there to help with my coursework, understanding of content or general queries.

The knowledge that i am gaining through my qualification does play a vital role in my understanding and helps me to perform better in my role. As i am training to become a software engineer, the lectures based around coding and understanding the technical requirements allow me to challenge ideas proposed by the business.

at the moment in time, due to covid-19 there have not been as many extra curricular activities as i would have liked. However, we have had many networking events and social events such as a games afternoon where the whole team played among us - none of us knew how to play so it made it really fun. This was also during work hours so it ensured we didn't have to sacrifice our personal time.

Yes

I would recommend NatWest to a friend highly due to the environment and culture of the company. The open door policy encouraged by many senior employees make it a great place to be and the warmness of everyone helps you feel welcomed. From my experience, it is also a great place to further you career in as most people, including the CEO, started of as a graduate - a role similar to myself

Those applying to NatWest, i would advise you to ensure you know, understand and resonate with NatWest's CPC values as these are vital in many of the on boarding processes. I would also advise you to network with people from NatWest and specifically people in the role you are applying for so you gain a better understanding of what the role looks like, the day to day tasks.