Procurement Apprentice Review

by Balfour Beatty

Best Apprenticeship Employer

Rating

9.2/10

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

At the moment I operate in a central role within the team assisting the project buyers and commercial teams to raise payments and orders and work closely with the supply chain manager to work on KPI's and review meetings.

8/10

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

Communication, professional communication, excel skills, specialised systems usage, procurement planning, Customer relations

10/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

I have been very fortunate my line manager and whole team are very supportive in developing knowledge I didn't have before and the company offers an early career programme alongside my apprenticeship where we get to meet, network and work with people all over the business not just from the business units we work in.

8/10

4. How well organised/structured is your programme?

Very well structured the dates for lectures and meetings are sent out very far in advance and it is easy to structure my away from work time around my every day calendar.

10/10

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

A lot of support my Line manager and team are extremely supportive in aiding my development whether that's enrolling on external courses, mentoring from senior members of the team and a diverse range of tasks to keep my knowledge expanding.

10/10

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

Quite a lot even though a lot of the course is self study the lectures and exam tips and revision sessions are extremely useful to help me pass the course.

9/10

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

The theory knowledge that comes from the apprenticeship aids massively in the practical procurement jobs as I can begin to understand more of what is required of us I can improve my daily performance and better understand why we do what we do.

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.)

We have various affinity networks you can be involved in that raise money for charity's and support employees like the Neuro Diversity network also every office and site office have employee welfare programmes that put on events like, activities out of work, food trucks coming for lunch.

10/10

9a. Would you recommend Balfour Beatty to a friend?

Yes

9b. Why?

You get experience that is unmatched in the industry, the pay goes up twice a year when your an apprentice which massively increases over the whole term. Plenty of support is given to you over the term of the apprenticeship by not only my team but also senior leaders who are heavily invested in the early careers.

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

Be honest about your experience and personality but also do a lot of research into the company as our operations are a lot bigger and more diverse than people may expect from a company that's typically labelled as construction company. Know why you want to work in a certain field and show your willingness to put yourself out there and try new things.