Junior Management Consultant Review

I am business apprentice and have worked on 2 accounts. My first for a publishing account looking at automating finance processes. I worked on writing playbooks and selling materials to demonstrate our method and best practices in automation. now I am on my second account working on a telco infrastructure change as a Project manager design authority analyst. This means I track progress and push defects and technical issues to resolution.

The main skill I have learnt so far it the importance of collaboration, communication and literature. Collaboration in the sense that when you’re in a team both small and large its beneficial to harness others expertise to enhance your own development and technical understanding. Communication to encourage others to work with quality and pace to deliver for you and how use of words support this.

I really enjoy my programme as it has given me a real opportunity to get hands on with clients on real projects. This makes me feel like I am adding value and making a difference. The breadth of opportunities I have been offered working with different people in different locations means no day is the same and I find it really fun.

The fact that I am working on real life projects with real clients and am given such a sense of responsibility and accountability means I don’t feel like an apprentice making me feel really valued. Also the level of responsibility to a senior level makes a difference to. I am also offered lots of learning and networking opportunities which makes a nice change of scenery to the office which makes me feel valued.

The programme is very structured to the point where there is a chronological plan available of what the next 2 years of our apprenticeship looks like. There are key milestones that mark our progress and will assess whether we are on track and the support is there to keep us there.

The same as below, I am fortunate enough that my training provider is also my employer, as stated there are loads of courses and network opportunities to get the support you need. However in terms of off site external courses that aren’t run by IBM, there are none for my business pathway.

There is so much support from IBM. From the get go we are made aware of the key people around us to ask for support if ever we need it. Equally the chance to build your support network is vast. Obviously support isn’t just in the form of people, there are plenty of courses and mentors around to help you along the way.

When joining IBM I took a 4k salary drop to join the apprenticeship scheme. My base location is London so I have spent £600 a month on train fares and there is no support from the business for this cost. If it wasn’t for my substantial savings from past employment I would struggle with the costs associated with travel as I know many have.

There are loads of opportunities outside of work. Only a few weeks ago I received an email for the national corporate games which is a great social and sporting event. Equally there are plenty of opportunities for giveback where we can promote apprenticeships at local schools, career fairs , do charity work and more.

Yes

IBM as both an employee and training provider offer such breadth and depth of learning and development opportunities. The number of opportunities outside work along with the giveback opportunities are fantastic. In general it’s a really great place to work, and the diversity and inclusion of all sorts of people make it a really enjoyable place to be.

The main piece of advice id give to potential IBMers would be, be open minded and be prepared. IBM is a place where you are given so much responsibility (with the right support of course) that it can sometimes be overwhelming, be prepared for this and be open minded when learning new things that you initially thought may go over your head and the challenges that come with it. But most of all relax and just have fun.