Apprentice Analyst Review

My title is 'Apprentice Analyst' for the team I work for. Daily tasks included monitoring the team's mailbox and forwarding queries to certain members of the team, being responsible for taking the minutes in the team meetings, and chairing smaller team meetings. I had small responsibilities for the team, but was never given major responsibility by my manager.

I have attended courses to improve my knowledge within my teams Subject Matter Expert. I have learnt skills needed for working life, regarding the correct ways of conduct and how to structure emails.

The programme is quite interesting because it is a brand new area of work that I had never previously heard of. This means your interest is maintained for a long period of time as you are taking all this information in. The team helps you integrate you in the life of LBG which is very helpful. The culture is vastly different to life at sixth form, and this was very hard to adapt to. Overall, I did not enjoy the apprenticeship. It was not to the educational level I expected and often found myself disappointed in the standard of work I was completing. I was told I would be using strong analytical skills, however I didn't at all.

LBG offer great benefits for all permanent employees (this includes Apprentices). I receive a salary that is very high for my age and on top of that there is Flex Benefits, which is a 4% bonus scheme in which you can use this money for extra holidays/private health care etc... Managers keep in close contact, and have regular catch up sessions to check what work I am completing and whether I have any queries.

In terms of the actual apprenticeship qualification, I would say it is organised well. The apprenticeship co-ordinaters from LearnDirect have experience in doing this and therefore regularly schedule meetings where I have to evidence work, and the website they provide means you can easily track your progression. However in terms of working in my actual team at LBG, I don't think there was a plan for in terms of what work I would complete when I first joined. This made it difficult to feel valued and made it almost hard to work. I had to put myself forward in the first month to have any work to complete, and I often felt like I was wasting my time just sitting in the office with no work to complete, even though I was asking for work!

The support received from my training provider, LearnDirect, is faultless. I had an initial meeting with them to outline the course details and what would be expected from me. From there, we had monthly meetings scheduled well in advanced, and I knew what I had to complete before the session occurred. There was numerous booklets I had to complete, and if I ever had a problem with them, the company would be easy to contact and be happy to help me.

My manager's are always willing to help me. One manager tends to be more reliable, but obviously that is personal to your situation. In general the team does support me in any problems/queries I have. If I mentioned a certain area of interest I had, they would be more than willing to point me in the right direction to help me gain the knowledge I strived for. The HR team at LBG is very responsive and queries are usually answered immediately - you can either contact them by phone or email. The team as a whole were more than happy to help me moving forward and they treated me as a member of the team, not just an apprentice.

The salary I receive is more than adequate. LBG do not have a set scheme throughout the company that apprentices have to follow, i.e. there are many apprenticeship schemes at LBG whilst there is also many individual apprentices, and therefore salaries vary. However the salary I received was the highest I could have asked after completing sixth form. My salary was near enough the same as graduates, which meant I could almost mirror their lifestyle. I commuted in from outside London, and although this was costly, my high salary meant I still had plenty for the month. Additionally, LBG have a scheme called Flex Benefits and as an apprentice you are also entitled to a yearly bonus in April.

The apprenticeship I joined wasn't a scheme, so I joined as the only one. Personally, I would advise anyone against joining an apprenticeship like this. The opportunity to meet other people your age is limited and this definitely put a damper on the scheme. LBG are suppose to have an Apprenticeship advisor that schedule meet-ups and events for apprentices.... Never heard from them once, So I received little if any exposure to other apprentices. I would highlight this factor as an important one when making your decision on which apprenticeship to take. As an employee you take part in one Day To Make A Difference (DTMAD)each year, which is a day out-of-office where as a team you volunteer at a decided venue to help a local community.

Yes

LBG is a very supportive environment that allows apprentices to fulfil their potential. Colleagues in other teams, as well as your team, are more than willing to put-a-side some time to help you if you show an interest in their work. You will feel a valued member of the team, and this will help you grow as an individual. LBG also has a 'Flexible' work ethic, which means you are able to work from home a day or two every week, which is an added bonus!

The normal application process for LBG is submitting your CV and answering a few questions. If you are successful with this phase, you will be asked to complete basic numeracy and literacy tests to make sure you are competent in these skills. If successful, you'll be invited for a group assessment day. The group assessment day included an individual interview, and a group task where you need to show strong social and team working skills. Two candidates are then asked to return for a longer individual interview, and then the manager will pick. I think it is vital to know if the apprenticeship is a scheme or it will just be you, as this could affect your decision. You should also have a good understanding of what the team you are applying for does, as I wish I had a greater understanding of this before I made a decision