Finacial Services Technology Apprentice Review

I am a Financial Services Technology Apprenticeship at Fidelity International. My role is building applications using Java, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. I work in a reasonably large team, working alongside some very experienced coders and one ex=apprentice. I have completed one project so far in my time at Fidelity, which was an application to help deliver a Scrum methodology to teams spanning across countries by building an online poker planning tool. I spend my days coding and find it very rewarding.

Before joining Fidelity I had no previous experience coding. I can now code to a reasonable standard, and am now able to build applications which can go into live production. I have been on many training courses with my training provider Firebrand, during which I have gained a better understanding of the Technology word. I have also picked up many soft skills related to working in a team.

I really enjoy the programme I am on. I never wanted to go to university, and this programme has offered me a way to gain qualifications whilst gaining experience at the same time. The work I do is extremely rewarding, and my progression from knowing nothing to putting code into live production is incredible. The team I am in is very supportive, helping to guide me through the first few months when everything was new. The culture of the company is incredibly nurturing, and this has helped me progress quickly.

I feel very valued by my company. My manager has always been supportive and has always expressed his delight in how quickly I have progressed in my role. He knew when I was hired that I was unable to code, and so my ability now has impressed him greatly, which has led to much praise. I have been able to work on projects now which have actually been used by the business, showing how the company value me.

I have found my programme very well organised. The initial induction helped to integrate me into Fidelity. There have been multiple soft skill sessions with my apprentice group in order to increase confidence, and my training courses with my training provider have always been extremely informative. I have been mentored by an ex-apprentice, which has been very useful as he understands exactly what I am going through.

In the first three months of joining Fidelity, I had absolutely no contact from my training provider. This meant that when I finally had contact with them I was much further ahead than they had planned for. However, since the first contact, the support has been good. My facilitator always replies quickly, and so I am able to ask any questions and get an answer quickly. There is good support when I am on a course, however due to the first few months without contact I am slightly disappointed in regards to support, as that was the time I needed it the most.

I receive a great amount of support from my employer. I have frequent meetings and catch ups with my manager, which allows me to discuss how I am progressing as well as any issues I may be having. The HR team who look after the apprentice's are very approachable and have been great when I have needed any help or support. Due to the friendly nature of Fidelity, accessing support is extremely easy. I have had great guidance due to having a mentor.

I am extremely happy with my salary and other benefits I have at Fidelity. There is a pension scheme which I am utilising. I live at home with my parents and so living costs are very low. I have a 15-20 minute drive to work, but have a car already and was used to drive to school so again the increase in costs is minimal. I buy lunch at work in a subsidised canteen and so this again isn't very high cost-wise.

There are multiple company events throughout the year to get involved in. I volunteered for TEDx, which was held by the company in London, last year, and am involved in the actual team for it this year. The company has held apprenticeship socials, including drinks receptions, and dragon boat racing! The company also offers two days paid leave to get involved with charitable events, in order to allow people to get more involved in supporting the local charity partners.

Yes

I would recommend Fidelity to anyone who wasn't sure about going to university, as they offer a great range of apprenticeships in a very nurturing environment. I have learnt an incredible amount in such a short amount of time whilst getting a large amount of experience at the same time. Especially regarding my specific apprenticeship, learning how to code whilst surrounded by people who have a great understanding of how technology works as a whole will help much more than learning to code at university, as you miss out on how technology is implemented and how business actually works.

I would just advise to be yourself and stay relaxed when doing any interviews. Do some research around the company and possibly who's interviewing you in order to get a better knowledge of possible questions. Whilst I never did any assessment days in order to get my apprenticeship all new apprentices will have to go through one and my advice for that is to be very friendly, work as hard as possible in any activity you do and make sure to be a team player.