Project Management Degree Apprentice Review

My current role is in our global Talent and Diversity Team based in Essen. I am currently managing two different projects; organising a networking event for all our diversity and talent networks, and creating an international video showcasing E.ON's talent and diversity networks, showing how E.ON strongly supports talent and diversity across the organisation. On one day I could be working at home, joining meetings online and then making PowerPoints, spreadsheets and Word Documents. On another day I could be in a office, having face to face meetings and interactive workshops.

In the last two years alone, I have significantly developed as part of my Apprenticeship programme. Although I am driven myself and willing to learn, E.ON has played a fundamental part of this by opening up some incredible opportunities to develop. E.ON is unique in the fact that they have a strong learning culture, and everyone is able to develop and grow their skills, no matter where they are in the organisation. I think the main skill that has developed for me over the last two years is confidence. Before I joined E.ON, I was fairly quiet. Talking to new people always felt quite unnatural for me, and I never dreamed of speaking to senior leaders. However, E.ON has given me the opportunities to grow my confidence. I have been doing presentations from day 1, I've spoken Infront of large audiences, I have been presenting to senior leaders. At the time, I was very outside my comfort zone, but now I love meeting and talking to new people.

There are many reasons why I enjoy the programme. Firstly, the support that we get from Early Careers and the business is amazing. They are always there for us, and they are always engaging with the business to make the schemes the best experience as possible. The business really values apprentices, and everyone is behind supporting and working with us, and having us as part of their team. I also enjoy my programme as we move around the business in 6 month rotations. This allows us to experience different teams across the organisation, and find out what we really do or don't enjoy.

My programme is very well structured. As explained previously, we move around the business on 6 month rotations, allowing us to experience different parts of the company. Onboarding in Year 1 is very thorough, and first year's have development sessions all throughout the year to help them settle into the organisation. The structure of a placement is very dependent on the placement manager, however I have only had good experiences so far.

The support from E.ON is very strong. Our early career's are always a phone call or teams message away, and they closely work with us across the scheme. We are also very fortunate to receive support and recognition from all our senior leaders and board members. E.ON also has leading employee benefits such as equal parental leave, access to a digital GP etc.

York St Johns University has been very good throughout my scheme so far. My work based learning tutor is amazing, and she is really passionate about what she does helping apprentices. All the staff are only an email or teams message away, and they always are very helpful with any questions I have. Consistency can sometimes be interesting - the teaching can sometimes vary in quality between lecturers and modules, but in general they are very good at supporting me and my academic studies.

The content that I learn at university is extremely helpful in my role. The setup at E.ON is very good - the ask is that our placement work is tailored to what we are studying at University, so it is simply the case of lifting and dropping what we do at University to our study. For example, my current module is on Project Planning and Controls (looking at how we plan projects using tools such as Gantt Charts, Work Breakdown Structures, Critical Paths), and for this placement I have been able to apply a range of these straight into my work.

E.ON's degree apprentice cohort are very social. There are always things being planned such as watching football and rugby, going bowling together, going for a drink at a bar. There is a also a degree apprentice football team which everyone is invited to join. We also have development days where we come together as a cohort to network, and learn more about the business.

Yes

I think the main reason for me is the culture. E.ON's culture is fantastic - we are very diverse and everyone is accepted for who they are, no matter their ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. The business also highly values development and learning, and we are all encouraged to learn and grow. We've had over 1000 colleagues be onboarded onto Apprenticeships, and it is a very learning culture. There are also great opportunities to network and progress within the organisation.

My advice would be to really research the company, and see if our strategies and what we do aligns with your motivational fit. In the assessment process, be yourself as we really want to see you as your true self. Also, practice answering interview questions and research different answering methods such as STAR to make sure your answers are structured.