Business Analyst Review

On a day-to-day basis my role will consist of checking emails, sending emails, attending meetings, arrange and hosting meetings with various stakeholders across the organisation, updating project documentation and investigating business users 'pain points' to design and implement solutions to resolve these issues.

In this role I've developed upon my previous ICT knowledge including programming, web development and SQL through training courses as part of the ICT qualification with QA. From my day-to-day role I've learnt and built upon core skills required for my role including business analysis, process mapping, solution design, stakeholder management. Overall I think the biggest skill I've developed is confidence in my own skills and capability.

I've really enjoyed the programme I'm on and I'm glad I made the change to an RBS apprenticeship. You're welcomed by all within the organisation and given constant support within your local team, along with skill development for your role and technical knowledge gained as part of the qualification.

I feel extremely valued by RBS especially within my local team who give praise and recognition on the work I've completed. It's also a great feeling to get feedback from colleagues who I've helped solve their day-to-day issues and improved their working life.

I feel that the course is structured okay. From RBS' perspective it has been fantastic, with constant support if required. The downside to the programme has been the organisation from QA (training provider), with slow replies to emails and not the full support you would expect. Although the training courses which have been attended as part of the qualification have been great and perfect for developing IT knowledge.

I feel I've not received the greatest support from the training provider. Reasons for this include: slow replies, lack of contacts within the organisation for support and especially the organisation involved with enrolling for the next level of the course which has taken 3 months so far with no progression.

I receive all the support I expect and more from my employer. Early Careers HR team have been extremely useful if I have any queries. Mostly the support has been provided by my line-manager and local team who are constantly there if I ever need anything and will always do their best to support me.

The salary package I receive is fantastic! I could not fault it at all as it's much more than what I received previously completed an apprenticeship and moved into a full-time role with another organisation.

Yes, there are many opportunities organised outside of work, especially within local teams such as fun nights out. There are also various volunteering opportunities available to help support the local community plus there is many communities to join including the Young Banker's Association (YBA).

Yes

I would recommend RBS to any of my friends as it provides a great programme which focuses on developing your skills and for future career options. I'd chosen apprenticeships as an alternative to university and I would always choose this option as I've preferred learning on the job.

When applying for an apprenticeship I would advise on reading up on the history of the bank and focusing on the banks 'Values' and 'Our Standards' as you will likely have to write an application based upon how you meet these. Reading up on these will especially be useful when it comes to the telephone interview where you will be asked a series of questions based upon how you meet this and giving examples to support this. The online tests can be tricky due to the short time to complete them so ensure that you've taken the practice tests and complete various other ones online before completing the real thing. When it comes to the assessment day, with some of the scenarios you have to complete the main thing I found is to ensure you're able to fully back up the choices you've made in them. Good luck for all of you in application!