Corporate banking apprentice Review

Corporate banking apprentice Daily tasks involve looking into business development opportunities, using different programmes to find out information for customers and improve their experience or put right mistakes, completing mandate changes on bank mandates, changing business addresses, completing debit card applications I frequently call customers when following up mistakes in applications and contact other parts of the bank in regards to this I am studying for the professional banker certificate alongside these activities

I am studying towards the professional banker certificate which involves learning about the history of banking, the regulatory and legal environment, how to serve customers, credit and lending and conduct and professionalism in banking which is all new information and is helping me develop my banking skills. I have developed my communication skills be it via email, phone or in person making me able to meet and communicate with the bank's customers effectively.

I enjoy the programme, the work book is difficult to work through especially when watching the 3 hour live sessions however I do have a lot of support from the team and especially the other apprentices in the year above. It met my expectations in that I am able to be flexible in working in different roles and environments and you have to find a lot of work yourself by asking for it, some of the jobs I am given differ slightly to what I expected as it is researching prospective business rather than working with current business

I feel valued by my manager and by the people I work with on my apprenticeship as they set a lot of time aside to go through things with me the rest of the team is quite distant and i feel are more focused on the job at hand and the customer

The programme is well structured with the actual learning for example we have a live session once every two weeks and a study session half a day on the same day every week. The induction was very long and not much of it went in, this would have been better in small sections. My mentor (buddy) left after a month of me working at RBS as she completed her apprenticeship, she was very good at answering questions until then and luckily there was another apprentice able to assist me when I moved desks

BPP are reasonable at providing the information we need to learn however it is very difficult to work through and while our monthly reviews are nice we don't go through content so it's all left down to ourselves. Chapter 2 and 6 of the book could do with more support as they are quite intense chapters

I receive quite a lot of support from my employer in that I am given time to learn and space to catch up on revision, I could do with more work being given to me rather than me having to find it as it decreases motivation. I am able to speak to my manager if I need help and especially find the help of the older apprentices useful

My salary is good for my age however as I moved cities for this job I have found it increasingly difficult to support myself and am having to move home which involves transferring locations I would recommend that other apprentices stay at home until they get their feet on the ground or until the first year of their apprenticeship is over as this provides time to save and accommodate unexpected costs, something that I have been unable to do with my current wage

There is the Young Bankers Association which hosts quite a lot of events for graduates/apprentices and is good for meeting people. In Manchester the apprentices are quite proactive in arranging our own events and nights out, including a game of crazy golf and drinks after work one night. We have also discussed doing something for the community such as volunteering in a soup kitchen for the homeless and I believe we are able to take time out of work to do this.

Yes

Good pay, good for getting qualifications as they are very supportive at putting you in for exams and I know after my current qualification I can study for the lending certificate too

Dress appropriately to interviews but they are usually more laid back than you expect, be yourself Ask lots of questions and keep reminding yourself of the reasons why you want the job so you can stay motivated be independent and self reliant You must be able t motivate yourself and try new things Don't think the job isn't academic, you will need to remain academic to pass the qualification