Test Analayst Review

Functional software test analyst working within the Co-operative bank. My day to day involves ensuring quality assurance of software systems and raising and tracking defects within the software.

I have learnt many new skills during my time at the Co-operative bank. My level of knowledge in IT has grown extensively and i have learnt processes which take place within a financial services company.

I enjoy working within testing and developing my knowledge in other areas. Although i feel there is a lack of downline communication from management, which can lead to a lack of work on occasions.

I feel like me, along with all other apprentices within testing, feel that a lack of communication towards us from management makes us feel undervalued.

At the start of my programme I felt there was a lack of structure which lead to an absense of work for a long period of time. This was due to the apprentices withing Testing being overlooked when project resourcing tasks were undertaken. Although now i have branched out my network within the business, using my own intuition I have managed to work on a variety of good projects.

From my training provider I have recieved an adequate amount of support. Although at times communication can become difficult and work may take a longer than desired time to recieve feedback on.

From my employer I also recieve an adequate amount of support, although there is a lack of communication from management, which means any questions take a long time to get answered.

I feel like my salary is acceptable and meets my costs. My salary is a lot more desireable than other apprenticeships which I have seen in the past.

Outside of work there are many opportunities, I believe this is also due to the sector in which I work being so large, so there are always available roles.

Yes

Although I feel like at the start of my apprenticeship there was a big struggle and I felt undervalued, once I have branced my network out I managed to find work in a lot of other areas, which did not come from Management. The experience I have gained from doing this is unparalleled.

I would suggest that they do not rely on management in order to recieve work and that they should use their intuition and actively search for work themselves.