Apprentice Economist Review

The main responsibility of my role is to review the economics case of government business cases and writing the validation for these to determine whether a government programme is value for money. Business cases are the proposals which the civil service write for government programmes (things the government want to put into action, for example renovating a prison). They explore what the objectives of the programme are, whether there is commercial interest in the contracts government want to tender, whether the UK can afford the investment, how the programme will be delivered and in the economic case the estimated social value of the programme is set out. I check the economic case and my validation helps decision maker determine whether to invest in the programme. Other tasks in my role have involved helping to prepare the figures for an economic case and creating a staff cost model (a sort of table of staff cost values), for other teams to use in their work.

I have learnt and developed lots of new skills in my apprenticeship. Of course undertaking a degree in the subject has greatly advanced my knowledge of economics. However in addition to that, whilst working on the job I have improved my excel skills, developed my ability to effectively prioritise, manage my time and work to tight deadlines and I continue to learn how to convey complex information to others effectively in a concise and informative manor.

I really enjoy the programme and I could never imagine just going to university now. In my department the workload can by quite intense at times when you are trying to complete a degree at the same time, so occasionally I do long for the quantity of time afforded to students to just study. However when I consider the amount I have grown personally and professionally whilst on my apprenticeship and the amount of experience I will have by the end compared to other university graduates, it makes the programme seem so worthwhile.

The programme is fairly well established now and both the university and my work understand the time pressures that the other part exerts on my time. There is a strongly enforced study day set aside so I have time to complete my off the job training and my work are also fairly flexible when I have a particularly pressured period of university work.

My employer is supportive of my apprenticeship, allowing me to take my study day and attending my apprentice reviews. I am also able to ask them questions about work and sometimes the application of thing I have come across in my studies to work situations. I do not generally receive there help in studying for my qualifications but I know that in other departments this is sometimes the case. However my employer helps me to find opportunities to develop the skills I need to for my qualification when I make them aware of what these are, although being an apprentice this is definitely something you have to be proactive about.

The University of Kent is brilliant in teaching the economics degree which I am working towards as part of my apprenticeship. The lecturers try to keep the content of the degree as relevant to our work as possible so that we are able to put the knowledge they provide into practise. The university has also been very responsive to feedback about the course over the years to try as far as possible to make the work load manageable and the content accessible in the reduced time we have to study compared to a normal degree.

The qualification has been essential in helping me to improve my performance at work. As my knowledge has increased I have felt more confident in carrying out my work tasks. Not all of the information I have learnt at university has been immediately implementable at work, but by having an awareness of how economics is used in the real world I am able to appreciate when I might need this knowledge in the future, which helps me stay motivated and focused.

There are a wide range of networks at work (for religions, disabilities, wellbeing, personal development, etc) which frequently send emails about the events that they are hosting, their work to improve understanding and development in our workplace or upcoming festivals. The GES also hosts many seminars on different economic topics, which are always interesting to attend ( as these are online they are very accessible) and my line manager is supportive of me going to these so as an apprentice I can broaden my understanding. If like me you are not a fan of the pub and cannot attend after work events due to a long commute, there are alternatives held during work hours such as coffee roulettes and even a chess club.

Yes

The GES scheme is very well run and has only improved since it was established 4 years ago. It provides an unrivalled opportunity in the field of economics to study economic theory in the degree and put this immediately in to practise or at least see it in use in real world contexts. On completing the apprenticeship you have a multitude of experience to accelerate your career much faster than other economics graduates and having been in a Government Department for 4 years you are aware of the further development opportunities available to you and as you are already in the Civil Service these are much easier to access.

I would say to make sure you have strong evidence of your ability to manage multiple priorities to a high standard and to be able to clearly articulate your motivation to study an economics degree whilst working. Although economic knowledge is not required being able to show more than a passing interest (eg reading the newspaper/books) but actually engaging with the subject (writing essays or giving your views on economic topics) will help set you apart. Also again although it is not a prerequisite having A-level maths will really help you when studying because the maths in the degree becomes quite complex and as you are working you have less time to get to grips with it. Above all else make sure that you understand how busy life is when doing a degree whilst working, although there is a work life balance to be had, the work side (with university and normal work) can dominate.