IT Innovation Analyst Review

I'm an IT Analyst at Unilever - which means that I get to work with discovering and utilising cutting edge technologies like VR and AIs to help the business grow!

I've been on a few internal training courses on top of my apprenticeship work, which involves taking an Open University degree and training from the PDS training provider.

I'm really enjoying my programme so far - it's let me experience things I would never have otherwise been able to experience, and the agile working environment allows much more freedom in ways of working. I can't praise the ability to work from home enough, especially when it comes to doing apprenticeship work!

I feel highly valued by the company - I've had the opportunity to speak to many high level people within the business, which really helps to put into perspective the importance every person in the company holds.

The programme is relatively well structured, though at times the combination of Unilever, University and PDS work can get a bit too heavy for me to keep up with, when there is essentially no communication from the University to keep apprentices and their support staff engaged with what is happening from that side.

My training provider is a great source of support, as are the employment agency - both members of support staff provided there are always available and have monthly checkups on the apprentices to keep us on track and check that we're happy and healthy.

My employer is great for support also - though this is much more of an individual thing, my line manager has been amazing in getting to grips with the apprenticeship scheme and how to manage an apprentice by giving adequate time to complete that work. Also, there is a sign-on mentoring programme so you can have someone within the company who you can talk to about essentially anything you need help with, who for me has also been incredibly helpful.

Impeccably. All Unilever employees are paid a living wage, and due to the proximity of the offices, if you live in the South West London area then you won't ever have major costs in reaching one of the three offices.

There are semi-regular events organised by other apprentices, such as going out for drinks and the like, and the work Christmas Party, for those who wish to attend them!

Yes

It's honestly the best working experience I think I could have ever hoped for - an incredibly fun job, a very high wage for an apprentice, loads of support and the agile working allows you to have so much control over your working lifestyle. I would recommend Unilever every single time, if you want to have fun in your job.

The best thing to do, corny as it sounds, is be yourself. Once you're through the application process, the assessment day is the most important part of the whole thing. Your future line manager is one of the people in the room with you, and you need to give them a reason to choose you. Be friendly and open; trying to show off won't get you anywhere. The point of the apprenticeship is to gain skills, so managers are looking for someone who they want to work with as a person and they think they can provide the best support to over someone who is highly qualified.