PRA CDF Assistant Review

Essentially, my role was to be a helper within the Bank of England organisation. Day to day I would fill in the work that needed to be done, things that were not too important but still needed to be done. These were along the lines of proof reading, reformatting documents, using information to construct a presentation etc. Everyday there was something new to do so there was a lot of responsibility and reliability required. You spend a lot of time with people working in the sector of the PRA and you get to see what experience they have in their field in action.

There were a lot of things to do albeit random. In this sense, it improved my ability to respond to random demands quicker. For example, I could edit a document for a while which can reduce your activeness then get asked run down to the main office to get a signature. These two tasks differ in the sense one is a sitting job and the other is active and swapping between the two can be very hard and tiring but I believe I have adapted to these situations. Moreover, my skills in formatting spreadsheets have improved.

I enjoyed the people and I enjoyed the amount of work I did but I wish it was more prepared. I felt as though I was not really needed even if it was just work experience. The team were made up of contractors so they would generally move around companies a lot which was quite sad because I would not be able to see a lot of real work. Company culture is nice, the team I worked with seemed to be very close to one another but they did not seem to talk to other teams on the same floor. Overall the experience was pleasant but leaves a lot to yearn for.

Given that I was not there for an extended amount of time I did not feel like I was making an impact. Maybe I made the lives of individual workers easier by taking on minor jobs but I feel as though I was not making a difference. Moreover, in terms of appreciation, I do not know if my work was actually needed in the end.

I felt as thought the programme was not structured well in terms of the department I was placed in. The jobs were random and was not very helpful in improving my understanding of what they do. Sometimes I feel as though they are also unsure of their role.

There was not much support in helping me get introduced to my role as my role was to generally be an assistant for anyone who needed help. Before I was given a more difficult taste I would be given a little introduction but it was all just rinse and repeating jobs.

I was not given much support as there was generally no support needed. Although I did asked to be put into the markets department but I was put with the PRA.

I was not paid for the job I did and was not reimbursed for my travel costs. Overall, it was not worth it in terms of experience.

While I was there there was not many events going on with the company if any. I was not aware of any events, although I know that they do a lot of pro bono activities for the community.

No

No if you are looking for actual banking experience. The PRA just regulates banking law and has nothing to do with banking itself! If you are looking for banking experience make sure you are applying for an actual banking role.

I was called for the job through a charity so I do not know much about direct applications but I know they are strict about grammar and their assessment days. Therefore you must prepare beforehand if you are seriously considering a placement there.