IT Apprentice Review

In my current rotation, my role is described as an innovation technologist. This involves scouting new technologies, speaking to external vendors, getting hands on with new technology and experimenting with it myself and becoming an SME for that particular technology to then be able to influence the deployment of that technology within the organisation.

I have learned to put myself out of my comfort zone and try new things including creating augmented reality experiences, dipping myself into development work in Unity and creating 3D assets in Blender. All of these skills are very transferrable which will serve me well in future rotations at AstraZeneca.

I really do enjoy the programme, I feel like depending on the team and the level of experience the team has with apprentices, we are taken seriously and are given meaningful work to do as well as a reasonable time to be able to develop on a personal level in a way that it aligns with university work.

I feel like the studying aspect with the 8 month rotations that we have at AstraZeneca are very difficult to align and sometimes makes life a little more difficult as the modules may not be related to work and vice versa. This is often the issue but our line managers and mentors like to make sure that we are staying as relevant as possible in our roles.

I feel like we receive adequate support and time from the employers, however, I feel like to really stand out of the crowd, an apprentice needs further qualifications and the expectation may be to do that in their spare time, however, I feel like we could be given time during the week to participate in courses that are mutually beneficial to both the apprentice and the team.

The support is definitely present at BPP, my university coach likes to make sure that he is checking in with our group at least every few weeks and organises catch up sessions to be able to have a safe space where we can ask questions and make sure that we are being looked after.

I think most of the time, unfortunately, the learnings from university do not link to my job role, however, it may link to a future role with another team and that gives me confidence that I am not starting from scratch and I can take those learnings and develop in a professional environment.

There are various apprentice related events to get involved in and they are well signposted at AstraZeneca. However, due to the pandemic, I feel like I haven't given myself the chance to get involved and there have also been less activities throughout the pandemic for obvious reasons. Generally I do also like to reserve the social aspect of my life to outside of work and therefore usually don't have the interest in a "work social".

Yes

I think it's a very friendly organisation that welcomes keen students to find out what they like and dislike in a professional setting and the support network around you will aim to help you find those activities. However, I should note that this doesn't come automatically and you will need to be independent as the employees around you are also full time and won't be able to dedicate themselves to you completely so it is good to be proactive.

I would make sure that you are enthusiastic about the role you are applying for and have relevant knowledge or interests as that will help both the student and the employer find roles that are good fits. I would also encourage students to be well prepared for the interview stages as it can be very nerve racking especially the first time around and it is a very competitive field.