Customer Operations Administrator Apprentice Review

Throughout my apprenticeship I worked between two roles. One is a sales order management apprentice and the other is a buyer apprentice. In Sales Order Management, I was primarily responsible for creating outstanding order reports for the sales specialist and raising account specific orders. In addition to this, I had regular meetings with various people, learning about the wider business and different sectors within Computacenter. As a Buyer, I worked in Security and I was responsible for sending forecast reports to management, managing our purchase order spreadsheet making sure all of our orders are not overdue, and I raised security orders.

I have learnt many new skills as well as developed my existing skills. E.g. I have developed my IT skills, presenting, communication and problem solving. I have learnt how to use multiple transactions on SAP, as well as OneTouch which is our in-house reporting tool where we gather data for outstanding order reports, look at product info and raise orders. I have learnt how to raise order on various accounts. (Not all accounts have the same ordering process), and I have also learnt how to create forecasting reports.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Business Admin Level 3 programme, as there were many great people who I could communicate with on a daily basis and I got a lot of support from my manager. The material within the business level 3 was good, however sometimes repetitive, but helped me to memorise what I needed for my end exams. I found the balance between the apprenticeship and the job role was good, and I always had enough time to complete my assignments.

I felt the programme was very well organised. This was evident when looking at my profile on OneFile, I was able to find everything I needed for my assignments, how to log my off the job hours, what feedback I needed to give and where I could find any helpful information. Each assignment was given to us with a full explanation, along with supporting documents which had examples and information about the topic to help us. I also would have meetings with my coach to go over what criteria we needed to hit for each assignment so that I could hit as many of the criteria as possible. At the beginning of the apprenticeship, we were told what would happen, what each step of the programme would be and what the end result would be. The programme was structured so that we were introduced to it, completed the assignments and worked towards our end point assessments.

I got a lot support from my manager and my colleagues. Regular 1-2-1 meetings were put in place which allowed me to develop myself and seek advise. If I needed extra time working on my assignments, my manager and work coach would set aside extra time to help and support me

Whenever I have my monthly reviews with my training provider, I am always made aware of the support I can get when I need help. My work coach is approachable and friendly and I feel as if I can ask for help at any moment. If I feel as if I need extra time working on my assignments, my manager would always happily arrange cover for me allowing me to continue working without having to worry about my work in role.

Not only have I been able to learn about businesses and how they run, but I have also learnt important skills to help me within my role such as communication and organisation skills. Within the apprenticeship, we learnt about things like social media and security, laws and regulations and GDPR which are all helpful for me within my role when considering what I can and cannot post about my work, and how I communicate with customers so that I am not sharing their personal information and doing my work in a secure way.

At my work there are a range of activities we can take part in. For example, as an apprentice I was involved in FreshMinds, where we would do activities like virtual pizza making, virtual cocktail making, going out to places in London to network and more. There are also things within our company like Coffee Dates, choir clubs, football clubs and we regularly have outings with vendors to network with them. We also arranged team activities like going out for meals so that we could all get to know each other better.

Yes

Computacenter has an amazing culture of wonderful people. Whoever you talk to, they're always welcoming and friendly. It was very easy to fit in and feel welcome within the company, and when starting a role here there is always a good amount of training given to you in order for you to do your role. The office sites are clean and spacious, with great food and scenery. equipment given to you for work purposes is always top quality. Whenever you need help with anything , there is always someone there for you, whether it be for daily work, mental health support or general help with something you may be stuck on, it's nice to know there is always nearby who can lend you a hand.

Research the job role and definitely do your background research on the company as you are likely to be asked a question about the company in your interview. At the end of your interview ask a couple of questions, i.e. ask one question relating to your job role and the second question relating to the company values. Most importantly, be yourself! as that is what Computacenter highly values.