Apprentice Application Developer Review

I am a software developer and my day to day tasks are to work on projects coding with Java. I work around teams who are involved in important projects within the company and get to join their meeting calls.

I have learned many new skills such as how to code as a person who has never coded before. At the end of the apprenticeship I will receive a qualification at level 3 in software development. I attended a 5 week training course which did not go as well as it was meant to so when I returned to the office my mentor started training me correctly and it gave me confidence within coding that I had lost during the training weeks away.

I enjoy the work that I am doing and the team around me, there is a lot of activities to be a part of in the office and around the UK within the company.

I feel valued by the others around me in the office, the teams and my managers, I felt very welcomed when I first started in the office and that hasn't changed over the time being here.

The programme was very disorganised and poorly executed, this began at the training weeks away due to faults of the first given trainer giving beginners in coding level 5 work and out of 9 people in the class 3 we're experienced and so the training followed what they wanted and not what was supposed to be taught in that first week, on top of that the location we were training at had severe internet issues to the point where we could not access materials we were supposed to be filling out as we went through the training. This was the same for the second location we went to train which had no internet at all in the classroom therefore we were not able to use the materials again and this put us very behind on this mandatory material that needs to be completed. Aside from the first trainer from the first week the other two trainers we received were good and delivered what they could the best they could but due to so many issues that we had and the order of the training it was not enough to be successful. After returning back to the office I felt very behind and due to the order of the training putting Java in the first 2 weeks and then spending the next 3 weeks not touching Java, which Java requires you to keep working with while learning/ being a beginner. Thankfully I received support from my managers when returning to the office who then helped train me in the office in Java again and gave me confidence which the training diminished. The programme within the office is organised well but externally it is not. On the materials page Canvas I was given wrong materials from the start and then new stuff was being added which was not for my course and then a course popped up with no mention from anyone that would require us to again go away for a week for training and to take 2 exams. I have a skills coach provided from QA who helps relay any concerns I have and he helps me build my portfolio up to be the best it can be but when it comes to things being corrected about how the training went and new training being looked at his highers do not provide him with the info he needs at a fast pace to help everyone involved which leaves us a lot of the time sat unknowing, aside from this he does give support needed and does get to the bottom of things when he can.

Two of the three trainers we encountered during training with QA were good and supportive but despite their efforts the circumstances that we were training in outweighed and both would agree that the locations we were in were not suitable for training as well as the length we had to train was not fee-sable as some weeks we had only 4 days available to us. The trainers attitudes were professional and supportive of us as much as they could be.

My managers and fellow colleagues give me plenty of support with no issues in receiving this support and everyone had a good attitude towards me treating me no different from others.

As someone who currently lives at home and with no costs of a car the salary is sufficient but on this salary currently I could not afford to move out and own a car, owning a car would be about the most I could currently do on this salary as of now.

There are many events set up by the company for apprentices, graduates and interns which are outside of work which are accessible.

Yes

The course and the security of the company itself is great and organised and if Atos rethink their external training methods the programme would be near perfect but the training holds them back greatly.

Do not worry, be yourself, be confident, work hard.