Finance Apprentice Review

My full programme length is 5 years, however the Level 4 Apprenticeship part only takes 18-24 months of this time during which we are placed in one team for the entire time. I am in the Chief Accountants Department working in the Central Bank Reporting team and have been working on a range of projects, including having the on-going responsibility of maintaining the tracking and recording logs which provide an audit trail for the team's deliverables. I will interact with members of my own team and other teams on a regular basis, liaising with various members of the GFS team based in India.

I am working towards a CIMA Certificate as well as a Level 4 Diploma in Management Accounting Practice. Alongside this skills I have developed include communication as well as spread sheet software proficiency. I have also developed my awareness having to always be on top of where deliverables may be in the Preparation-Delivery-Review process. I have also been afforded the opportunity to gain a First Aid at Work qualification through St Andrews First Aid which I completed in December, alongside attending training courses in all MS Office Programmes and an interesting seminar on Speed Reading.

I am enjoying my programme though do find myself with little work to do or feeling a bit like I am too limited to be of more help than on a secretarial basis. This is, however due to the fact that my apprenticeship is still in the early stages and I am not yet equipped with enough accountancy skills to be of assistance in the review and challenge stage.

I feel I am given a very generous salary for an Apprentice however there is a degree of mistrust, I feel. Maybe it is because I am 21 so older than a lot of the apprentices, however I feel that I, in particular, am not afforded the same flexible working conditions as an employee and there are glaring differences in the way employees are treated to apprentices, only in my own experience though. I do feel valued but not so much that I feel like I am another employee.

This is the first time the apprenticeship has run in this way and so we are almost guinea pigs for the process. There have been times when it feels quite unorganised and there is a lack of communication at a managerial level as some apprentices get treated one way while others are treated completely differently.

Plenty of support is provided by BPP, lots of resources have been sent out to support both the CIMA Certificate and the Level 4 Diploma. Videos and course notes are also available and my assessor is always happy to help. I enjoy the work i am doing both inside and outside of work so a good support system also needs to be in place for this.

I generally have to find my own time to do any study, despite being told we get 6 hours a week. I find this frustrating as trying to maintain a work/home life balance can become difficult. I do ask for help when i really need it and i usually get it although i think that the system and support could be improved quite a lot.

I rent with my partner in the city, the salary meets my basic needs and pay for my travel, rent and utilities and groceries/essentials but I have little left for any kind of fun/social activities, none if I keep up with my savings. To be honest I am weighing up the pros and cons of a small weekend job but worry about how this may impact my study for my qualifications, however it is getting difficult to support myself and my household.

There is a gym on site run by Nuffield Health which is £30 a month, a luxury I am unable to afford. There are plenty of networking events, especially for apprentices so these are always highly recommended. I am actually going to talk about my apprenticeship at a school in Glasgow in March so I am getting involved in this volunteering opportunity.

Yes

Though there may be a couple of cons, these are quite specific to my situation, were I a single school leaver still living with my parents for instance, the salary would be exceptional, however I am 21 and live with my partner. All apprentices have different experiences with RBS, I personally enjoy my job and can't wait to be able to contribute more in my role as I learn more skills. Others I know have already had on the job training and can contribute better to their teams. It is all very individual but overall I would say RBS is an excellent employer and has the best intentions for its Apprentices.

Be sure to keep in contact with RBS throughout the recruitment process as this does generally speed things up. RBS are working very hard to be a bank for the people so customers are truly at the heart of the organisation, no matter what role you are going into you must have a vested interest in the end customer.