Archival Technical Support Review

My role is to give technical support to business users for report builds, archiving data and purging records. I respond to requests that involve giving users specific roles for report viewing / building as I am a certified administrator on the system. I keep tracker updated from my teams daily calls and relay this back to the team every week to see where we are in terms of progress.

I have learnt a variety of skills and developed existing ones whilst being on this scheme. I have attended many training courses such as SQL databases which have developed my database skills massively. I have learnt a lot in programming as I currently study Java at university which I find useful as it helps me understand work in my daily job. In terms of personal skills, this apprenticeships has improved my confidence to speak within a professional environment and how to hold conversations with senior people. This has benefitted me outside of work as I am no longer socially shy and can have mature conversations with a variety of people. Whilst being at University, it has brought me many skills such as report writing, business knowledge and programming basics. All of which help me in my daily job as it involves all of these 3 elements.

Since leaving sixth form, this programme has changed my life and been the best experience to date. I have matured from a young student into a professional working individual. The team that I work with are great and off plenty of support and extra help if needed, I never feel shy to speak out to anyone if I am struggling either at work or in University. Before starting the scheme I was anxious to what it would offer, and if I would be able to handle the demand of working full time whilst studying a degree, and because I was fresh out of school I hadn't really had any experience in working full time. However, when I don't think I could have asked for a more exciting opportunity and its unbelievable how supportive everyone in Lloyds have been, the workload is a lot more manageable then I thought and everyone is so understanding, I am just thankful that I got given the chance to do this programme.

In terms of appreciation from my manager, this is set a high level as we have regular one to ones where I tell her what I've been doing, my successes and challenges I have faced, as well as letting her know how I am doing at university. Because we have currently had a switch over in management, I cant say a lot about my current one, however my old manager was very supportive and he always wanted to know how we are getting on with University and the grades we have been getting. The only tricky part I would say was the distance as he was based in Edinburgh whilst I am located in Leeds so weekly 121's happened over the phone and monthly ones happened in office. I also get a lot of opportunity outside of work to get involved in things such as apprenticeship fairs and going to exhibitions such as Microsoft and IT conventions, which all make me feel valued as I am getting to go on exciting trips and do extra stuff which makes my work more interesting.

In terms of organisation, at the beginning this was good as we got regular emails from the apprenticeship team and started to look at locations. Because I was on holiday at the time, connection was poor so I couldn't always answer, eventually I managed to secure a place in Leeds as this is where I live but it took time arranging this as many people wanted this spot and there was only limited places, the area I managed to be placed in within Lloyds is Information Management however before joining, I didn't really know what it was about and no one told me. In terms of induction I believe this was very good, we had a day at the university which was organised by Lloyds where we had chance to meet the other apprentices and get told about where we are working and Lloyds as a whole. We then attended a weeks induction at the university going through each course and giving us an insight to what we would be covering over the 4 years. Another point I would comment on is the communication between ourselves and the apprenticeship team at Lloyds, this is always a little hit and miss and we never are clear on who to contact regarding specific enquiries, I think communication between ourselves and the apprenticeship team could be more effective as I feel like the baton was just passed over once they recruited us, with no clarity on who we can contact.

My team that I work within provide me with topic discussion and little training sessions, as well as my line manager who is always there to reach out to when needed. My lecturers at university are always very supportive, my programming lecturer sets up weekend sessions in case we need help with our assignments.

In terms of my employer, I get support from both my line manager and task manager, everyone is always support and never feel like I can not speak to someone regarding an issue. However, with regards to the apprenticeship team we receive very little support/contact.

The monthly salary is great, the money I earn is very manageable is higher than most standard apprenticeships. I have to pay for travel to University which costs roughly £20 a week which is manageable in comparison to my pay. The location of the office is suitable to where I live as its only a 30/40 min drive with busy traffic. Because I am only 19 and still living with my parents I don't really have any serious outgoings such as a mortgage etc. which makes my wage a lot more manageable.

Plenty, as mentioned earlier I get the opportunity to attend IT exhibitions hosted my Microsoft, host events at apprenticeship fairs and do stuff with the University.

Yes

The best and most exciting way to earn a great wage as well as gain a degree in Digital and Technology solutions.

Don't be shy, be yourself and make sure you prepare yourself prior to attending the assessment day if you get that far. Nothing isn't impossible and although the application process goes through a variety of stages, the end result I worth it.