AUM Business Service Unit Apprentice Review

I'm an apprentice based in the Chelmsford office in the AUM team. My role is offering Business Support to the Underwriters by drafting insurance certificates and logging data on to the systems we use here at AON. My role is varied in that I do several different things and communicate frequently with the brokers and underwriters in my area which at the moment is Global Terrorism.

You get great support on the apprenticeship, especially with completing your CII exams. We frequently have revision days which are very beneficial. You also come in to contact quite frequently with senior people and it's great to watch how they work and present themselves and you can learn a lot through watching them. My basic insurance knowledge has also grown a lot in my short time here.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the programme and feel its very beneficial. My team was all very welcoming and luckily for me also very busy. This has allowed me to be given more work and responsibilities than I possibly expected and I've enjoyed this a lot. I feel as though I'm just a normal employee but with the added benefits and support of the apprenticeship.

I think us apprentices have been made to feel very welcomed by the organisation and definitely don't feel out of place at all. The amount of support we've been given is great and I feel in our individual teams everyone feels very welcomed and appreciated.

The programme is incredibly structured in that we have revision days for the exams pretty much monthly and this definitely increases the chances of passing them. The first 2 weeks of the apprenticeship we spent at a conference centre in Wycombe which was also excellent. It allowed us to meet all of the UK's apprentices for 2016 and meant we had networks across the business before we'd even started in the office. It also topped up our prior knowledge of AON and the insurance market in general. In particular, the second week was very informative and I found it incredibly helpful for when starting in the office.

The training provider is constantly available and easy to communicate with. They set work for us to complete and do monthly revision days with us. I feel confident going in to my exams knowing I have that resource there and if I have any questions they'll answer them very quickly.

My employer constantly supports me in the various things I've done within the apprenticeship. They have no problems with me taking revision days and are always ready to support me. They also supported me incredibly well through an operation I recently had and I couldn't thank them enough for this.

You always want to be on more money but the apprenticeship is certainly at the top end in terms of apprenticeships go. They definitely pay the same or more than their competitors and at the moment I can't complain at all.

There's lots of oppurtunities oustide work. There's various charity events and different sporting initiatives. In terms of going out with clients this would largely depend on your team and probably what office you are based in. Aside form this there is plenty of voluntary initiatives you can get involved in; the more you make yourself available the more you'll receive within the apprenticeship and organisation as a whole.

Yes

Aon has been excellent for the short time I've been here. The 2 week induction with all the 2016 UK apprentices away from the office was excellent and I'd encourage them to keep doing this. Once in the office my team and manager have been very supportive and I've almost always been extremely busy wuith work. This makes you feel incredibly valued and hopefully recognised for the effort you're putting in. The learning provider has also been great and are always available to answer questions and to support your learning in any way. I believe this apprenticeship is very highly rated within the insurance sector and from having friends on different apprenticeships across the industry I can see how much extra support and recognition we get given to maximise and reach our potential. I'd highly recommend this apprenticeship to anyone wanting to start a career in insurance.

My tip for when applying is to make sure you're thorough with your application, make sure its the best it can be. If you pass through to the assessment days just make sure you're confident but still yourself, don't try to be someone you're not. When going to the assessment day or interviews everyone is really friendly and its also very structured. You'll never feel lost or out of place and you'll know from minute one exactly what to do and where to be.