Portfolio Management Apprentice Review

My role is within the rand Institutional Banking arm of the Corporate Banking Division of RBS Group. My job title is customer facing apprentice in Portfolio Managment in the Shipping team. It is an intricate role that involves covering all aspects of asset financing from taking out insurance on Ships to the credit grading of a customer and analysing the risk of a business. I started in October 2013 and so far my role has been to contact insurance brokers to make sure that our mortgages or facilities are safe if a customer were to fail to pay back a loan. I frequently sit in on client meetings as well which gives me an insight into how to interact with customers. I will eventually move around into different departments in the PM team and will gain experience in every function that the team performs.

The main skills I have developed are existing skills i have had in previous jobs. RBS is happy to facilitate people development and actively encourage training courses and networking events. These events have grown my knowledge of the sector that ultimately help me in my job role as well as with the way I interact with colleagues as I can contribute more to meetings and conversations as I have a clearer understanding of how the company is structured and operates.

The programme itself is great in the sense that you meet new people and get paid to get a qualification as well as having a foot in the door of one of the biggest most succesful organisations in the world. The apprentice work doesn't always give great support to the role I do as it can be fairly generic but in somce cases it gives a great background of how the banking sector works.

This is the first cohort of Apprentices that RBS have taken on and they make it clear from the start that they want us to be the future leaders of the group. They instil the group values on us from the outset with the intention for us to carry these through our careers and influence those that we meet along the way. Overall I feel pretty valued

The RBS structure to the programme is very solid as they try to replicate the Graduate scheme by having the apprentices rotate within the department they work in. The qualification side of the programme seems to be a bit confused in places and sometimes doesn't coincide with the job you are doing. But at the end of it you do get a qualification that is very relevant and recognised in the sector you work in.

Each apprentice is given a work based assessor and meetings are held with them every 4-8 weeks. They are also always on the phone or email so getting hold of them when you have a problem is a simple task and they are always more than happy to help as that is their job. I do think the system with my training provider could be improved but overall it's pretty decent.

RBS really want this programme to work so they support me in every way possible. If I wanted to work or gain experience in a different part of the business they would be happy to accomodate it but if I was having a problem at work then they would help me overcome it rather than leave me to my own devices to solve for myself so i am pretty happy with my employer.

I live and work in London, which is the most expensive place to live in the UK, but i do have a salary to accommodate that. It is very good and more than I would have expected for an apprentice at my age so I would definitely advise anyone thinking about taking up an apprenticeship in Finance not to worry about how much they will get paid.

As I previously mentioned the Group actively encourages networking and courses from the outset. Within two months I had already been on 7 courses/networking events and had more business cards than I could handle! Again the company want to invest time in the Apprentices with the hope that we lead the bank in the future so they actively encourage taking on all opportunities.

Yes

Beacause more and more employers are looking at the work experience of a potential employee rather than a bit of paper you get from University. The value of being able to work and earn as well as getting your first step on the career ladder is invaluable. It is as challenging to get on a very good apprenticeship course as it is to get into University so for those he think its an easy way out think again because applications for apprenticeships are rising and they are being looked on more and more favourably by all employers.

Read about the business-if you go into an interview about a bank with as much history (especially in current times) as RBS and have no view or knowledge on it then you may as well just let yourself out. You have to want to work in the sector but also show that you have a willing ability to learn about the bank and believe in its values. It is a rigourous interview process which consisted of around 5 stages so be prepared for each stage. Most importantly be relaxed, calm and yourself as there is nothing worse than trying to be the person they want you to be as you mind find yourself in a situation that you are just not comfortable in.