Private Banking executive Review

My apprenticeship has placed me in Barclays Private bank, in wealth and investment management. I deal with daily banking queries that clients have along with resolving their banking problems. I am actively involved with assembling investment pitchbooks with bankers and going out to meet clients to pitch for new business. this allows lots of client exposure and allows me to develop myself.

I am constantly learning new skills, I am able to develop my interpersonal skills along with my computer skills and most importantly I am able to expand my knowledge both theorectically and academically. I find it easier to speak to more sophisticated clients who have lots of knowledge regarding the industry. The private bankers allow me to add value when pitching for new business which has allowed me to develop my presentational skills.

I thoroughly enjoy my apprenticeship programme, I feel it has given me the opportunity to pursue a career in finance not by going thorugh the more tradition route of going to uni and getting a degree. This programme has allowed me the opportunity to prove that you can do things differently and do not need to follow the crowd. This really motivates me to do well and has created a sense of loyalty on my part to my employer.

I feel exetremely valued by the team as I have been put into a position where I can really add value with my contribution. I feel that I am not treated as an apprentice but more of a part of the team, this comes with both its positives and negatives. I am able to do the full job with my colleagues however there is also the added pressure of delivering results in a high intensity environment.

I was part of the first ever higher apprenticeships in private bank therefore there were lots of teething issues regarding the organisational set up of the apprentices etc. There was not much clear instruction regarding rotations and end reult of the apprenticeship which has always been a cause for confusion especially with the first cohert of apprentices.

I feel a lot of support from the talent coach that has been appointed to support us and provide us with the help we may need. I find our coresspondant very quick to respond to queries along with being easily accessible if I wanted to arrange a revision class, etc. I also feel that as he was there from the beginning of the programme he can relate more to the journey that we are going through which makes everything a lot easier.

I recieve a lot of training and support be it from my team themselves, my line manager, the wider team and any other team I request support from. I am also enrolled into monthly/quartlerly mandatory training activities I have to participate in, this allows me to stay ontop of things such as regulation, local requirements, money laundering, etc. So I feel very well prepared in that regard.

My Salary does meet my cost in terms of travel into work, however I find it difficult to buy lunch everyday at work. If I do not bring my own lunch from home on occasion I simply cannot afford to buy lunch everyday in Canary Wharf. I feel that the salry that I am currently on does not 1. reflect the amount of work and expectation that is placed on me 2. barely enough to cover my costs i.e. travel to work, buy food at work and survive outside of work.

There are opportunities to get involved with various activities outside of work, Barclays is very keen overall for employees to get involved in citizenship activities where staff are pushed to go out and give back to various different communities. We are also quite active in the sense that we arrange lots of team event & charity events that look great on my CV.

Yes

I feel like I have really imporvoed myself as a professional and I feel that this was massively helped through the people I work with in Barclays, I feel the company is one of the few that actually try to incorporate the values it protrays into their everyday work life. The 5 values barclays strive for are taken very seriosuly and they want to ensure all employees live by those values especially if they want to be successful.

Working for Barclays is exciting, everyday is different, very intense at times and more relaxed in others. Working with very competent people who are good at what they do gives you the opportunity to develop yourself to meet the standards around you. When applying for Barclays I would advice that candidates be prepared to go above and beyond for the clients, possibly be prepared to work long hours however they should also be prepared to start a journey that will allow them to develop themselves and their knowledge regarding the market, the financial institution and banking.