CICS Support - IT Operations Review

CICS SUPPORT Working within a team and on the helpdesk, if any issues come through about errors on the mainframe or CICS regions, we work to get it resolved and prevent it from happening again. Daily we monitor emails and work within the mainframe itself and must also do assigned essays for the apprenticeship.

I have learned a lot more about IT and Telecoms as a whole, and I have also picked up new coding languages such as REXX and HTML. I have also learned how to work better with others and how to surf around the mainframe with ease, it has become like a second nature to use it.

So far I have very much enjoyed the programme, especially with the team I have been assigned to and also the work I have been given as well. I get on very well with the other apprentices that joined in the same intake as me and also others from other intakes and the atmosphere is very well too. So far RBS have beyond met my expectations.

As an apprentice I feel very valued from my manager and Team and RBS as a whole, I get involved in many different projects and tasks and get recognition from both internal and external on my work, especially at the Apprentices Challenge 2016. I feel as well that are manager and team really want to get us involved as much as they can, as they really value all the help that we provide.

Everything on the RBS side so far has been very well structured, but it is not very well organised on the QA apprentices side of things. Training within my team and RBS has been set up very well and I feel I have taken in the information provided, mainly because we use this information almost everyday. My mentor and manager have also given me the support I need to get through and get my assigned tasks done.

At RBS I receive a lot of support from many people, my mentor provides support when he is teaching or showing me how to work on the mainframe, and also my tutor from QA gives support. My tutor usually gives support on Essays when I begin to struggle and shows me how to word certain things together so they can answer the question in the essay. There is always a positive attitude as well when they are both supporting me and it helps keep a positive vibe.

I receive as much support as I need from my employer, this is because different apprentices need different levels of support. An example would be that a more confident apprentice does not need as much support as someone who is not as confident, but this does not matter as there is nothing wrong with needing some support, it can only help you grown and learn within the business.

I believe that my Salary is very generous as it helps cover my monthly train ticket from Fife to Edinburgh where I am currently situated. I believe that it is also enough to live myself, although I do not yet and it covers my daily costs (lunch, drink, cigarettes, etc...) and my social activities at the weekend, be it going out drinking or sitting in with a few friends and some pizzas and video games, or even travelling to different places such as Aberdeen for a weekend to get away.

There are many activities that you can get involved with within outside of the work place, while in have been working at RBS there have been a lot of nights out within my team where they celebrate a birthday or such with going to a local pub for a few drinks. There are also sporting events that have came up while I have been here such as 7 a side football and also donations towards others dong marathons and sponsored runs.

Yes

I feel that RBS is one of the better companies to work for as they treat there staff really well and have a hard working and friendly environment at the same time. RBS also has many opportunity's for apprentices within the business as you don't have to stick to the one department, over the years you work there you could try a different department to gain more skills.

When applying for RBS I would advise just being hoesnt and have your application well structured and professional, and when it comes to the interview, all I can say is be confident. Even if you aren't a confident person, just act confident and it will reflect on yourself more and create a good image. if you make it through to the on board process, I would say get it done as quickly as you can but also make sure understand everything. and lastly, the experience and opportunities, take every opportunity that you can as it will help you grow positively within the workplace and help build your character for yourself and your team.