Apprentice Review

by NatWest

Best Apprenticeship Employer

Rating

7.5/10

1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

My role involves me doing a lot of hands on coding. Coding for real life situations in a bank which really provides experience where nowhere else would. Every few weeks we have our courses which help with training us to become better engineers.

8/10

2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

I came into the role knowing little to no code. I mostly made static websites for friends or clients so I only had a basis with HTML and CSS. I really do believe that this job allowed me to learn many languages practically which I really appreciate

9/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

I do enjoy my program a lot. The only thing I dislike is that there are times where your calendar would be really free. I wish there were more tasks to do

7/10

4. How well organised/structured is your programme?

}I don't believe that the program was very structured at the start. It took 3 months for them to start our courses and the distance between each one is about a month each. It would have been nicer to create tasks or coding challenges for the apprentices.

5/10

5. How much support do you receive from your employer?

I believe that my employer is very supportive. There is no point in the apprenticeship where felt alone which I am glad about.

9/10

6. How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

I believe that the training provider is a work in progress. Many people have complained that the courses have not been organised because of this training provider. Fortunately, they are being replaced to a more experienced provider, however only time will tell how much of an improvement that will be

5/10

7. How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

I believe that the courses to train me well to become a better engineer. However, my training provider hasn't been the best help. Often signing me up for the wrong courses or misunderstanding my role Again, I'm hoping the replacement will be much better help.

9/10

8. Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

There are some extracurricular trainings but there aren't many that pertain to my role. One for example is the town hall which is great for social networking.

8/10

9a. Would you recommend NatWest to a friend?

Yes

9b. Why?

I do believe that they offer amazing opportunities to people from all backgrounds. I just wish they were little more organised.

10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to NatWest?

You don't really need a lot of experience to get very far with this course but it does help to have a little bit of background as the people you will be put into a team with will probably be full-fledged engineers. Online courses are your best bet