IT Honours Apprentice Review

I am a Service Specialist and currently manage 2 applications that are used within GSK, I also manage risks within my department. On a daily basis I interact with members of my team and also different members of IT to ensure they are managing their risks correctly and that they are progressing. I attend University 2 days a week and work full time for the other 3.

I have built my confidence a lot since starting at GSK. I now feel more confident to approach unfamiliar people and hold meetings with colleagues I may not have spoken to before. Whilst at University and Work I have learnt the basics to procedural programming, decision making methods and also business economics.

I enjoy my programme a lot more than I thought I would. I am doing different things everyday and always communicating with different people. My team are friendly and approachable and there are a lot of networking opportunities with other apprentices within GSK.

I feel valued by GSK. I have regular meetings with my manager and occasional meetings with the Apprentice Custodian. I am always being given new responsibilities and different tasks to do so that I know I am making a difference in the organisation.

My programme is not that well organise. At University, they are not very organised and they do not have regular communication with my manager, Mark Schemes/Gradings are not made clear and things are often organised at the last minute. In the working environment it is very well organised, I have frequent meetings with apprentice support and was assigned a buddy when I first started at GSK.

I receive a reasonable amount of support from my training provider. I have been provided with a custodian who I meet with once a week whom I can also contact at any time via email/phone and can meet with independently or in a group.

I receive a lot of support from my employer, I have regular meetings with my manager to track my progress and to ensure that I am on track for reaching my goals. He also checks how my university work is progressing to make sure I have got an even weight distribution between the two.

My Salary/package does not meet my costs as much as I would like however GSK do pay for my travel to/from University and any travel I do if I visit a different site. My rent for my house costs 50% of my salary so I do struggle some months for daily/social costs but there are other benefits from working at GSK such as a yearly bonus, pay rise every 6 months and also opportunity to invest in the share/pension scheme and a private healthcare package.

There are a lot of opportunities outside of work. GSK organised Christmas and summer parties. There is a leisure club where we get 50% discount on membership and also a gym on site. There is a good network of apprentices and we often organise nights/days out and different activities as a group. Since joining GSK I have met lots of new people and had a lot more opportunities than I would if I went to university or stayed at home

Yes

They are a good company to work for. I feel like I am making a difference within my department. Good benefits even as an apprentice. Apprentices do not get treated any different than a full time employee and receive nearly all of the same benefits. The salary and packages are good and I receive a lot of benefits from working at GSK.

I would advise someone research into different roles and make sure they apply for the right thing. When applying I would advise them to mention all their skills whether they think they are relevant or not and would also recommend just to be confident and be yourself on assessment days and your first few days at work.