Apprentice Finance Assistant Review

A brief outline of tasks include; maintenance of the Unit 4 (The Trusts) financial system; assisting end users with queries and access, entering the stock data, weekly and monthly pay feeds and various websites; ordering data into the ledger, conversing regularly with the financial management department to ensure the list of budget holders are up to date and employing these lists in Unit 4.

I have learnt how the finance structure works within the Trust; i.e. how expenditure is initially broken down into its type - then further split into various cost centres and account codes. I have developed my posting skills in that I now have knowledge of how to post data into the Unit 4 general ledger and how to post corrections when necessary.

I find having a day of study alongside a 4-day working works very well for me. Having a day (at college) where I can address any issues/queries I have alongside other students in similar positions allows me to gain skills efficiently and feel part of a team. Within work, my colleagues have made me feel very welcome from day 1 and I have gained new working-relationships. I enjoy going to work each day.

The structure at the beginning of the apprenticeship was very regimented - i.e. I had a day of learning how to do specific tasks (i.e. shadowing a colleague in posting a pay feed and eventually moving to doing this myself - while supervised). This was in place for approximately 6-weeks, where I then began to undertake these daily tasks independently. Following this initial period, I now still have a routine - in that I carry out certain tasks for each day of the week.

My employer supports me greatly - I have regular weekly meetings with my working-team to raise any issues/queries I have. I also attend monthly meetings with the broader Finance department where I am updated on the current standings of the Trust finances. I also am invited to share my thoughts during an every 6-weekly personal review with my line manager.

Outside of my weekly college sessions, when required, I am able to contact my own, personally-appointed skills coach (a representative form the college) - either via email/through Microsoft Teams. In doing this in the past, I have received prompt replies and always had my issues/queries answered (i.e. to amend the date of one of my scheduled assignments following an illness).

Studying the level 3 AAT qualification assists me greatly in my role - in that, posting pay/stock feeds, I am able to determine which payments are to be credits/debits. This has meant I pick up new tasks quickly with little input required from my busy colleagues. Similarly, knowledge of depreciation calculations gained from college has allowed for me to identify issues with previously posted depreciation charge data - and ultimately, how to correct these.

The Trust has many opportunities for staff to join communities - some of these include; Finance Football events, Fantasy Football leagues (Finance Staff), LGBTQ+ and mens/womens mental health groups. Also, the Unit 4 system invites the Finance Systems staff (my team) to attend a yearly event where any updates/potential changes to the new version of Unit 4 can be discussed.

Yes

There is a great sense of community within the Trust - all colleagues have a sense of working to the best of each of our abilities. For example, within the Finance department, we have recently strived to improve ourselves further, by recently joining the Future Focus Finance group - this has involved lots of small changes to benefit the working lifestyles of all staff (for one, ensuring all colleagues have an up-to-date job description in their Outlook profiles).

I would advise others to be themselves - as there is no judgement from the staff - they are always happy to help/consider peoples differences. And also, be willing to be part of the team - not only their localised departments, but also within the entire Trust. Additionally, I would add that any new person(s) to include a description about themselves during an application (i.e. hobbies/what you personally enjoy). This will provide some common ground between yourself an potential future colleagues.