Apprentice Project Manager Review

by Home Office

Rating

7.9/10

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

Supporting the main project manager with project life cycle activities. Setting up meetings, writing agendas, taking minutes, updating project plans, interacting with stakeholders, leading on risk management. I have also deputised for the PM when she has been out of office.

8/10

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

I've learned new skills such as Risk and Issue Management, Scope Management, Schedule Management. I've learned new IT applications such as Microsoft Project. I've developed my existing communication and stakeholder engagement skills.

9/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

I have mostly enjoyed my programme. There were a few bumps along the way - 3 hour training sessions could have been split up to make learning easier and my initial placement wasn't in a project team so I was grateful to get promoted into a project team.

8/10

4. How well organised/structured is your programme?

It has improved over time - it didn't feel particularly well organised at first because my placement had never had project management apprentices before and were effectively learning along with me. The training provider was fairly well organised, they did have quite a bit of staff turnover though.

7/10

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

My employer has been incredibly supportive. They offered me a transfer to a different department when it didn't look like my training needs would be met, they've always given me sufficient study time and encouraged me to develop further.

10/10

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

I received a good amount of support from the provider; the skills coaches have made up for any gaps in the workshops.

8/10

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

It has helped me to better understand what is going on around me and enabled me to approach tasks like risk and issue management with greater confidence because of the learning I have been doing alongside my work.

8/10

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 networking events but they are mostly virtual. I'm pretty sure that most in-person activities or sports teams would be London-based.

5/10

9a. Would you recommend Home Office to a friend?

Yes

9b. Why?

I've really enjoyed the working atmosphere and there are plenty of development opportunities here.

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

Study the civil service behaviours and don't give up! I applied for several civil service jobs before being accepted onto the apprenticeship.