Assistant Relationship Manager Apprentice Review

I am a Assistant Relationship Manager Apprentice at NatWest. Therefore, I support my Relationship Manger in different tasks. I have a customer facing role, so on a day to day basis I mainly communicate to customers via phone and email and sometimes go on meetings with my Relationship Manger where an annual review takes place. I also deal with payments, queries, concerns and requests.

I am learning new skills throughout my apprenticeship - Before joining the bank I had very little knowledge on financials services, however my apprenticeship is helping me to gain in depth knowledge on the banking system by having on the job training as well as my level 3 apprenticeship course with BPP. As well as this my communication skills have improved as I am communicating with customers daily.

I am enjoying my programme as I have a good & friendly team who offer me a lot of support, this gives me confidence to progress my skills within my office. Also, my training course with BPP is enjoyable as there are so many resources to help me with my study and better my knowledge on 'providing financial services'

I do feel valued at NatWest as there is so much support in my office and my team are happy to help with anything. For me as an apprentice I feel like I am valued & looked after well by NatWest as a Bank.

I think my programme is organised very well. I had a specific date given to me when I would start at the bank. When I started, my training provider gave me a specific date of when I would start my training course and how the training course would work, for example I have to attend an online classroom every 2 weeks where my teacher will give a presentation on a specific subject relevant to my course. My training course is structured very well - I have deadlines and start dates for each module, I also have a progression ladder to see what I can do better.

I receive a lot of support from my training provider, I have a skills coach who is always available for me to contact. Also, every month we have a phone call where she will run through my progression at work as well as my training course & if I need any additional support. I find this really helpful as I know if I am struggling with anything my skills coach will be there to help.

I receive a good amount of support from my manager who will have a discussion with me on a one to one basis every month or so. This is helpful as he will talk through my progression, what I need to be focusing on, what could be improved, what I am good at. Also, if I need help with something that is out of my colleagues control, my manager is happy to help. I think this is very important for my progression.

As an apprentice, I think I have been given a very competitive salary and it meets my costs well. My salary is one of many things that helps me to stay motivated within my role.

I believe that the Bank has a big focus on the Apprentices that they employ and I believe that they give apprentices like myself a big opportunity to progress within the bank.

Yes

I would recommend NatWest to a friend as I believe that they have a big focus on their apprentices which motivates us to go further within the Bank. Also the salary is competitive & they offer a good bonus package. It is also a friendly place to work which is anti-discriminatory.

I would advice people who are applying for a job at NatWest to be prepared - I believe that the recruitment process is very tough and you need to give yourself plenty of time to prepare. Also I believe that you need to have motivation as at times my job can be tough so you need to focus and give 100% to keep progressing within the Bank.