Project Assistant Review

My apprenticeship is for Project Management. At the moment on a day to day basis I look after my business area's involvement with a project run by another area. I attend key meetings, ensure reviews and sign off of documents are completed on time, help resolve issues and find out information from key subject matter experts from within my area. I report on this project and act as this area's project manager. I am also assisting my line manager with his new portfolio of work, where I am in a project assistant role, creating documents and communicating with stakeholders.

I have learnt a vast amount of new skills since starting this apprenticeship. I have learnt the AMP project management methodology and learnt about project lifecycles, I have learnt about governance, planning, managing risks and issues, stakeholder management, configuration management and how to manage my time. My Microsoft skills have greatly improved and I have learnt new programs such as Microsoft project and visio. I have more confidence in my general communication skills than before thanks to this course.

I enjoy my programme at the moment, my current line manager is wonderful and both challenges and supports me as needed. Although it took me a while to adapt to working in the office environment, and the first 3 months of this course were very slow, once I moved areas my responsibilities grew and I've enjoyed being busy. I like the amount of new information I learn, and I can see my confidence in this job grow with each month that passes. Although the programme can go from being very subdued to very busy with very little in between, and keeping up with the pace of coursework on top of doing a day job can be challenging, I enjoy having a variety of things to do.

I feel fairly valued by LBG. When myself and my fellow apprentice started in our office, we were the first every project apprentices to have been in this building and very few people had heard of our scheme, once they learnt who we were and that we were different to people on the graduate scheme I felt people really invested time in helping us develop professionally. In reviews of the banking group as a whole they often like to praise how many successful apprenticeships the bank has had and seem proud to have us. As an employee of Lloyds, I like how they encourage agile working as I appreciate getting to work from home occasionally, I'm also glad that, as apprentices, we are considered full time employees and qualify for bonuses. LBG promises us we get to keep our jobs after the scheme has ended, and this is probably what influences this answer from me the most.

The programme itself is run by LBG, PDS and learn direct. The three organisations do not seem to communicate with each other well and this often leads to a divide between what one asks us to do and what the other expects of us. As an example, learn direct emailed people on my scheme telling us we had to fill out a booklet and that it was mandatory as our assessors were marking it, yet when our assessor visited (who is from PDS) she had no idea Learn Direct had set us any work and wasn't interested in marking it. We often have workshops, from all three parties, which are too basic and held too far through our course to be of any value to us. This is something that could definitely be improved. Thankfully, it seems the next cohort of apprentices are having their scheme run slightly differently to ours based on the feedback we provided, however they seem to have qualms about this 'new course' themselves.

My previous assessor (PDS) was always very good at supporting me as much as I needed her too. If I needed to hit development in an area which I wasn't encountering in my BAU role she would talk to my managers and help arrange it with them. However, she gave her notice in February 2017, which is only about 8 months before our apprenticeship is due to end. This has thrown us entirely as although we have a new assessor, she hasn't made any contact with us and we don't understand how she likes to mark or how she will be. Although I presume she'd be able to offer support like our previous assessor could, we haven't had contact with her yet and she's been assigned to us for nearly 2 months.

My direct line manager now is wonderful. I suffer from anxiety and he has supported me in everyway possible, by arranging an informal agreement to allow me to work from home every Wednesday. He reads any assignments I ask him too but doesn't pressure me, and very much lets me own my apprenticeship course myself. My old line manager, for the first 3 months when I was in PMO, was a different story, it appears he had asked for an apprentice so it would look good on his balance score card and he didn't have the time to help my development, which was vital as I was new to the bank then. My time under his management made me feel alone and unsupported in my role and made me consider leaving the apprenticeship, however since moving under my new line manager I am very glad I didn't do so.

For an apprenticeship I think this job pays wonderfully. We are brought in at a band C (band A being the lowest paid grade) which, out of London, is at about £21,000 a year. Considering how little apprenticeships could pay us legally I think this wage is more than fair. We can qualify for end of year bonuses and have access to any perks which a colleague not on a scheme can have. Lloyds also reimburses travel and accommodation costs if we have to visit other offices.

I am in a very social office which hosts a lot of events outside of the office time. There are a vast array of charity events to get involved with, as well as monthly socialising events, such as pub quizzes or just drinks after work. Sometimes you can feel a bit pressured to attend these events but they are a wonderful opportunity to network. The location of the office, although in the suburbs, is on a main bus route, so allows for easy travel after work ends.

Yes

Lloyds banking group pays a good wage, most the colleagues treat you fairly and as an equal, there are endless job opportunities once you become part of the organisation and it's a great step into a career route. The colleague benefits, such as staff loans and the deposit/mortgage scheme, can be good for moving into your next step of life. There is so much knowledge in the bank and so much colleagues can teach you just from being around them.

Be yourself in the interview, there are a lot of different personalities who apply for jobs like this, some people seem more 'corporate' than others, but being corporate isn't always best and you shouldn't feel intimidated by those who seem to fit in better. This project management scheme requires you to be an easily approachable, social person, and the assessors/interviewers look past any school/sixth form you went to, your age and your social status, and look for people who they think have potential and would be a good fit to Lloyds values. If you're eager to learn and are passionate about why this opportunity matters to you, Lloyds will give you a chance, even if it is not the role you originally applied for. You have nothing to lose by trying.