Procurement apprentice Review

my job role is procurement apprentice. day to day activities includes meeting with suppliers, checking payment of invoices and negotiating best terms. As part of my apprenticeship I am studying for the level 4 CIPS and I have already completed the level 3.

I have learnt a number of new skills through studying CIPS and also in my day to day activities. One of my key skills I am developing is my negotiation tactics and also understanding contract terms.

I enjoy the apprenticeship program a lot because it exposes me to new things and I am learning new things on a daily basis. the people make it extremely enjoyable and everyone is always happy to help if there is a problem or something new I would like to learn. in terms of expectations, I did not know what to expect however I am very happy to be part of Virgin Media and have at no point been unhappy.

I feel extremely valued by Virgin Media. last year I was asked to lead our charity event for Scope and to say thank you I was awarded with a gift card and also nominated for the dazzle awards. my manager is very supportive in getting me involved in new projects and also other members of the team are regularly asking me to get involved in things they are working on.

When I first started I had an induction and [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyApprenticeship Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] was very helpful in making me feel at ease and ensuring that I had something to do, this was very much appreciated as becoming a new joiner is daunting. as mentioned above, I am studying for CIPS and my director has arranged for us to have study days in Henley before sitting the exams and if we are stuck on any questions then team members are happy to help, especially those who have already completed the CIPS course. I always have tasks to do which is great and if I am running short of work then all I have to do is send out an email to the team and I will quickly have something to do. the amount of support I get from the team is brilliant.

I receive a huge amount of support. I get 2 days of class room based training per module and there are also online resources available. if we feel I work load is too daunting we will be given study leave to ensure that we are prepared enough to take the exam. no one enjoys taking exams however the support I have received has made it easier.

My manager is extremely supportive and so it my director. I do not have much involvement with HR because there has been no need to however I know they would be happy to help if I did require help from tem. due to there being online resources for the exam, there is always the guidance that we need and the general attitude of the team is supportive.

My salary is amazing compared to a lot of other apprenticeship programmes. now that we are into the second year of our apprenticeship we have just received a pay rise of around 25% which is more than enough to cover my cost for travel and general living costs as well as having money spare to go out with friends and book holidays.

There are opportunities for outside of work, one of which is volunteering which at my company is very important. they would like all employees to take a paid day out of the office to volunteer. as well as this we arrange monthly events which the team are all invited to, these include team lunches and dinners as well as wine tasting etc.

Yes

I would recommend Virgin to a friend because they have an amazing working culture that appreciates the hard work that their employees do. The people are the biggest asset of the company as they are supportive and generally happy, hard working people.

Please ensure that you are well prepared for the interview as they will ask you what you know about the company. before I was invited for an interview I was asked to fill in a document which asked questions such as what are your strengths and weaknesses, what do you know about procurement. there are a number of opportunities available in the company, especially for apprentices and graduates.