Assistant Relationship Manager Review

I am an assistant relationship manager at Lombard for RBS. My daily role is very customer facing which means I'm in regular contact with customers. My day to day job involves transacting deals, providing quotes for customers, making phone calls whether it be to book meetings in or find out information. Along with this, I also spend half a day studying for my apprenticeship and every other week I have a three hour webinar with a tutor from BPP as part of the apprenticeship.

I have learnt how to be more confident in myself and develop relationships with customers. I am also picking up my day to day job relatively quickly to say I've only been with Lombard for a short amount of time. I learnt how to understand complicated deals and also gained a bit of knowledge on credit. I'm attending a product knowledge course this week meaning I will develop my existing on knowledge on the products & services that Lombard has to offer. My apprenticeship spec has also meant I've picked up skills such as how to calculate APR, and provided me with knowledge about the history of banking, the law & regulations, customer services, risk & credit etc. This opportunity has also provided me with the ability to become more independent and confident.

I am enjoying my apprenticeship programme entirely. There hasn't been a day yet where I haven't wanted to get out of bed (like I did at sixth form). I enjoy my team and my work colleagues - they are all extremely supportive and I never hesitate to ask them for help or advise as they're always willing to take time out for me. My day to day job is satisfying as when I accomplish something I feel proud of my self and this happens every time I get something done. This apprenticeship has exceeded all my expectations and I was completely surprised by what I thought to how my job & apprenticeship is actually is. I couldn't be more happier with the apprenticeship that I have taken.

I feel valued, and I feel like I'm a part of something. I have regular meetings with my line manager who never fails to make me aware of the good things I am doing. When I first started I was welcomed by the regional director who I also got the opportunity to meet, this made me feel like I part of something and not just somebody that no one was aware of. I like that people can now turn to me for help etc.

My programme is so organised, it is well structured which is how I like things to be. I have my study leave at the same time every week which is consistent and doesn't throw me off. I have a set amount of weekly tasks from my line manager and I have a call at the beginning and at the end of every week which means I have set slots which I can plan my time around. My line manager has said I should mould my day to day work around my apprenticeship, as the apprenticeship is the most important. So given that my apprenticeship has a lot of structure in place already, my job / apprenticeship and my self is extremely well organised. Me and my colleague delegate jobs and decide who will do what and base it on the amount of capacity we have that day etc.

I receive a lot of support from my training provider - especially my tutor. She is always helpful and always responds quickly to my emails / calls whenever I need help or advise. I had a few issues with the BPP website at the beginning and she was so helpful and now I don't feel like there is anything that I don't know. I'm extremely glad that I have Linette as a tutor as other apprentices from last year have said she was amazing, and I can also support this with my first hand experience so far.

I receive as much support from my employer as I could have wished for. Regardless of my problem I always feel I can turn for anything I may need. My manager is extremely supportive of my job, but is also supportive of my apprenticeship and would rather me put my apprenticeship before my day to day job, which is so important. With problems there is always someone I can turn to.

My salary package means I can pay for my travel and living costs, but also have enough to have a social life and also if any emergencies come up. I'm very grateful for the opportunity I have been giving with Lombard for RBS as the salary completely exceeds the expectations I had and not having to worry about money or how you're going to afford something is such a stress relieve. I feel more independent and confident as I don't have to rely on my parents so I can go spend the weekend with my friends, borrow money for fuel etc. It's so rewarding not having to live off your parents, especially now that I'm nearly 19.

There are many opportunities outside of work. There are many career fairs we get the opportunity to go and host, there are regular placeholders for my team and the opportunities to work from different locations / different teams if you wanted to get experience / wider knowledge. I also have time in my day after work and studying to got to them gym etc.

Yes

I think that they're an excellent company to work for who are providing such a great opportunity for young people to get in to they're dream job / line of work without having the troubles of university. They're also many opportunities with in the bank for you to experience different parts of it and also widen your knowledge and develop yourself as a person and with in the company. I feel I have the ability to progress within RBS and I wouldn't feel this way if it wasn't for the company, my team and my line manager.

The tips I would give for those are applying, to be prepared for the tests that you face at the first step as it is quite challenging. I would also suggest to just be yourself in the interview, I think being yourself is valued so much more when being considered for a position with in the bank. Also, to be open minded about the apprenticeship as it completely exceeded all my expectations and I couldn't be happier with where I am now.