National Security Review

I am currently working within project management in our National Security division. My day to day work includes being a ScrumMaster for one of our larger projects the project is over 18 months long and has 15+ staff working on it. Being a ScrumMaster means that I am in charge of the daily stand-ups where the team work about what they have been working on for the last day, if they ran into any blockers and what they’re working on today. I manage the team’s workloads and also their backlog, I am responsible for the usage of the project management tool for the project which allows the company to see which team members have been working on which areas of the project.

During my Level 3 and Level 4 IT Professional apprenticeships and courses I have learnt a lot at my academy which I wouldn’t have been able to learn within work. Such as networking standards which I don’t think I would’ve learnt much about. I have also been able to go on internal training courses which have allowed me to develop my knowledge of our large product range. I have been able to develop majorly on my confidence and communication skills within the last 2 years.

I really enjoy working for TRL as I have a lot of flexibility around what I would like to do for my career choice and the business is more than happy to support that. I feel like the business has a family feel to it as everyone is happy to help each other out and we all seem to get along really well. The business has also surpassed my expectations of what a regular business should be like.

I feel like I am valued well by the company, I am the point of contact for certain types of technology within the business. During my rotations I have felt like I am part of the team in each different area of the business. I am respected by people within the business for the work which I am doing. I also gain lots of positive and constructive feedback so I am always able to improve on what I am doing

The structure for the apprenticeship within the business is mainly lead by my interests in specific areas, within my 2.5 years at TRL I have moved between 8 different areas, both business and engineering roles. The mentoring program within the business is very well ran and also very unique. I meet with my mentor on an as and when basis. I see the mentoring program as a very good reason to join the business.

During my first couple of months under my academy I found it hard to get in contact with my assessor, but now as my apprenticeship has gone on I am always able to give my assessor a call or send him an email and he will always be more than happy to help.

I received quite a lot of support in the first couple of months of my apprenticeship from our HR team due to me just finishing school and immediately joining a full time job. They really helped me settle in and helped me become who I am today. If I ever do require help from our HR team they are always happy to help whether it’s about any problems I’m having or helping me with my career choice. I always also have my mentor/line manager who is there to help me if I am having any issues with workloads etc.

There are lots of opportunities to do social activities and also fundraising activities outside of work. We have an Apprentice/Industrial Placement/Graduate group and I am a Social Representative for the group, this means I arrange and attend the social activities which are arranged for the group, these are usually on a bi-weekly and monthly occasion.

Yes

The apprenticeship programme is very good for anyone as you have so many career paths to choose from within the business. The mentoring scheme also helps you develop personal and professional skills which can be used both in and out of the business. Overall I am very happy with the apprenticeship scheme.

There isn’t anything which I can think of to give to others which are applying to TRL, just be yourself and you should fit in perfectly.