Clerical Associate Review

I work in Banking Operations which was previously known as Treasury Services. Within this I work in Client Service. Our department is home to a many different languages from French, to Spanish, to Italian, Russian, German and Arabic to ensure that we can support all of our clients. At the moment, I work a lot in the Back Office functions. For example, I own our Risk Mitigation Programme which is reported monthly to Senior Management in America. We work a lot with the teams abroad as we have a round the sun model meaning our Phone Lines and Email Boxes are manned at all times. We have to quarterly review our policies and procedures which means a lot of communications with external teams.

Personal development is crucial to J.P Morgan. I assumed that the transition between A-Levels to work would be easy but I learned that it wasn't clear cut. I hadn't ever hosted a meeting before, or had to take meeting minutes, or write executive summaries but I soon learned and I had great support from my manager. There's a huge inventory of online courses to choose from, you can mold your training to suit you and where you want to go. My business and economics education has increased a lot through the Level 4 Qualification too.

I thoroughly enjoy my programme, fortunately as I am part of the third Cohort to go through the scheme is rigid and is being perfected each time. The company culture is really strong, and being at Bournemouth means we're on a campus...it's not just like any old office block! We have big open areas on site that we can use and a gym just across the road. The apprenticeship definitely met my expectations and in some areas like events and support, probably surpassed them.

I feel valued by J.P Morgan, and being an apprentice is no disadvantage. People are interested to meet you and will even contact you for work, feedback is always really important and people really want to see you succeed.

Right from the recruitment stage to finishing the apprenticeship the programme is very well structured. You start with a two week boot camp to essentially get to know one another and the company. You have three exams that are spread apart and the schedule for the year is clearly laid out, your personal reviews are set out from the start, and the expectations are clearly defined. The structure in department varies from person to person. Some may rotate (infrequent) or your structure may change due to business needs.

The training providers are always there to support you. Whether that's face to face sessions, online lectures, email or phone calls they always reiterate how they are here for you. The tutor's go out of their way to make the sessions dynamic and interesting, they'll always back track and go over things for you even if time is pressing on, or even they take time out of their weekend to reply to you.

The support that we get as apprentices is great. From our individual managers to the most senior staff on site. For example, my Managing Director hosts a bi-monthly luncheon with all the Banking Operations apprentices - we get a high insight into the most pressing issues but we also get to learn about him as an individual. Our Schools Team are also great; no matter how big or small the issue is they will try and help. Whether that's with exams, job queries, relocating, or just helping you to learn Excel skills! Additionally to your department and the schools team there are a wide range of schemes to find you a mentor.

The salary is very good for an apprentice, and for my personal circumstances, it is ample to live off (even if I do splash the cash every now and again!. I commute from Southampton to Bournemouth, luckily I car share though so I do not feel the effects as much...The benefits package at J.P Morgan is very good too from Pension's to Healthcare.

There are plenty of outside opportunities, you are definitely not missing out on the university lifestyle. Part of the apprenticeship involves volunteering in the local community - for this I mentor at a local school. Other people have done Christmas present packing, or working at local nature reserves. There are also Business Resource Groups that support different aspects of the Campus like, "Women in Technology" or "NextGen - for young professionals" these often host their own events such as workshops to develop your CV, or develop your public speaking skills. There are various lunch time sessions too such as the J.P Choir, the Yoga Classes and French lessons to name a few. The apprentices are always going out in Bournemouth as a Cohort too, we have a two week boot camp with a couple of nights out, a treasure hunt and much more. The company also hosts a massive Christmas Ball each year.

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