Project Analyst Review

I am a Project Analyst for Services UK. I work on our customer engagments, monitoring our labour usage against the contract, onbaord all of our subcontractors and analyse our progression throughout the whole project. I am also a dedicated PMO to one of the largest deals in Services UK and work very closely with the engagement manager to ensure the programme runs as smoothly as possible and we have high customer satisfaction.

I have gained a level 3 NVQ qualification in Business Management, as well as attending vocational courses for over 12 elements of the business gaining a huge insight to different roles and areas i may want to investigate later on in my career. Also, at Microsoft you have endless opportunities to continue learning and growing with our insight library hosting weekly courses and exams for certified qualifications in the industy - all free of charge to Microsoft employees! I have had a personal development plan in place from the beginning which i regularly update with my manager, as well as meeting with my two mentors and apprentice manager in order to aid my progression. Everyone at Microsoft is willing to help and support eachother.

The last 18 months being an apprentice at Microsoft have honestly been the best 18 months of my life. I have gained invaluable experiences for my career, been given endless opportunities outside of my job role to push me out of my comfort zone and i have been supported by network thoroughly throughout. I love the Microsoft apprenticeship program and i am actively looking at ways i can help promote it internally and externally to ensure it continues to be a huge success for the following intakes.

Microsoft treats each employee the same, all the way from UK GM to apprentice. I have never felt like i am below anybody or inexperienced, i have always been respected and valued in my team and across the whole business. My ideas are always well recieved and respected and i have been given a lot of responsibility throughout the last 18 months.

As we were the first cohort of Microsoft direct apprentices the organisation wasn't as strong as it will be for the next intakes, taking this into consideration, we all delivered our training on time in a timely manner, had support from many people and the team organising the apprenticeship was always there to answer questions and give us guidance regarding the overall programme.

QA was our training providor and our assessor was Julie Chell. Julie was an amazing assessor and i honestly dont think we would have got through the course without her help, she was always contactable - emailing throughout the night, on Sundays and even on her birthday! She always had time for us and helped us through the hardest times of the apprentice with a friendly smile. Julie deserves a lot of recognition for the work she done with us.

Everyone at Microsoft is supportive. There has been many times throughout the apprenticeship i have had to reach out t0 other employees to gather information or clarify some of our processes. I have never been denied help or been brushed off, everyone makes time for you especially if you offer a coffee to say thanks!

The salary is one of the most competitive in the country for apprenticeships and allows us to manage our costs well. I had to relocate for the job and travel nearly 200 miles to get home on the weekends - i have lived comfortably throughout the 18 months and have managed to be totally independent with my finances.

Thousands! Throughout the apprenticeship i would say i have spent 20% of my time getting involved in external projects, all the way from skydives to travelling out to Brussels to be a key player in a conference with EU comissioners discussing education policies. I am also an active ambassador for apprenticeships and regularly go round to schools talking about the tech industry and what apprenticeships can offer young people. Microsoft has an unlimited amount of schemes in place that anybody can get involved with outside of their job role.

Yes

Microsoft has changed my life for the better and has been an amazing place to start my career. I feel like i skipped 7 years out of my career and jumped straight into a full time role at one of the largest, most successful companies in the world at the age of 19. None of this would have been possible without the apprenticeship scheme.

Be yourself. Microsoft love personality, not grades - they see your potential not your previous experiences. Don't be scared, they aren't expecting a genius when they hire a school leaver, they are looking for enthusiasm, hunger and willingness to develop - show them that!