UKI HR Business Operations Specialist Review

The Apprenticeship has three rotations throughout the 3 years. In this role I am assisting the HR director with Business Operations and am involved in a wide variety of generalist HR activities from Compensation, Talent, Performance and Community. My tasks vary from one week to another week and I have been lucky to support and gain insight/knowledge lots of projects.

I have learnt many new skills, including knowing your stakeholders and having a considered approach to tasks. Asking questions like what is the outcome is really important. Skills I have developed including the ability to communicate with senior leaders and leading a project. There is lots of opportunity for learning and therefore the knowledge and skills that you can develop is vast.

I enjoy the breadth of experience I am having during the role and in the company. The opportunities are endless, you can be part of a variety of projects and also lead and manager your own initiatives. There are many people in IBM who want you to succeed and are all available to support you.

I feel valued in the role I am currently doing. I know that my efforts are appreciated and recognised both internally and externally. I have a regular 121 with my manager who shares with me what I am doing well and what opportunities I can get involved in to stretch myself. Having been in the apprenticeship for 2 years, I am trusted and valued by not just my team, but the wider community as well.

The programme is 3 years long although the apprenticeship qualification only takes 2 years. I have regular calls with my college tutor. I have an Early Professional's manager who provides support through my performance assessments. There are structured education sessions and courses that are readily available to undertake throughout the apprenticeship.

I have a call every 2 months to discuss my progress with the training provider. We have quarterly face to face workshops with the tutors which goes through our assignments as well as giving us education that will help us understand our business. The last topic was all about Organisational resiliance. The tutors are always available to answer questions over email.

My employer understands what is involved in the qualification and as such I am allowed time in the week to study and complete my assignments. They also support by opening up my network of contacts if I need any support for the assignments. Part of my qualification are projects based on my organisation. This is where my employer really supports me as they help me to implement and organise the projects that will help my qualification.

The salary is okay compared to living & travel costs. All travel for business is covered through expenses.

We have many opportunities available outside of the day role. There is the ability to do giveback in the local community, volunteer your time as well as get involved in sports teams onsite. Alongside this, there is an apprentice community where there is the ability to get involved in leader and being in a team. An example of this is organising events for National Apprenticeship Week which happens in March each year.

Yes

IBM is a good place to start a career. With the qualification and opportunities, you can learn about different roles and what you are truly interested in. I joined IBM at 18, with just my A-Levels and since then I have been given the opportunity to sit in roundtables with senior leaders, be involved in European projects as well as gaining a Level 5 qualification. It has become increasingly more difficult to determine if University or Apprenticeships are the right route to take.

Be yourself - The assessors can see if you are putting on an act or not being genuine. If you are hard working and have the right attitude you'll ace it. Do your research - There's nothing worse than reading an application form and it has the wrong company name on it. Get someone to triple check you CV/ Application form and do some research about the company. What are their values, mission and products. Be passionate about something - Whether it's a sport, hobby, helping other people, passion shows that you are interested and not a robot!