Change Management Analyst Review

I work as a Change Management Analyst within the Corporate sector of the bank. Day to day, I work on the creation of training materials and communications regarding any changes to our departments systems or any project go-lives that are occurring. This also includes creating and maintaining project-based web pages to ensure the best experience for our end users when accessing training materials. I get to interact with key subject matter experts in the areas that our projects/systems relate to and with key line of business stake holders.

During the apprenticeship, I completed 3 CISI qualifications which are industry recognized and enabled me to learn much more about the industry that I work in, including the IT required, the risk involved and the key participants and instruments used in investment banking. I have also developed many of my soft skills in this role, including: public speaking, organization, time keeping, drive, communication (in written and verbal formats), etc. I have also learn much more about PowerPoint and Excel which has been key to my role.

I thoroughly enjoy my role and my team - I have had an incredible amount of support and everyone pushes me to do well as I feel like they want me to succeed. The company culture is also great, there is a real push to bring in junior talent and train them so that we become the future leaders of the firm. The program was exactly what I expected, they were very transparent during the application process of what it would be like. I enjoyed the program - the only bit of criticism would be that sometimes it felt slightly disorganized but that was from the training provider and not the firm.

As previously said, I have felt massively supported by my team and manager during the program. They really want me to succeed and do well, and due to this they push me out of my comfort zone, give me good constructive feedback and always tell me when I have done a good job. As part of this value, I have received 2 internal awards for my work on a project which made me feel very appreciated be my entire department.

The program is well structured by the firm. There is good communication throughout the application process and on your first day you are made to feel very welcome. We had a 2 week boot camp where we got an overview of the firm, met our managers for the first time, got an overview of the learning side and also got to learn about each other as a cohort. During this time, we were also assigned a buddy from the cohort above who we could go to if we had any questions/queries about the program. We get a lot of support by the team that run the apprenticeship within the firm. The only thing that lets the program down is sometimes the training provider were slightly disorganized which then had an impact on our learning. However, feedback channels were set up in order to work around this and by the end of the program things had started to look up.

The training provider as previously said were slightly disorganized, however they did provide a good amount of support. There were forums available to reach out to our tutors regarding any issues with the content of our lectures, we had a dedicated apprentice manager who supported us during our coursework who always made himself available and if there were system issues the team there were quite helpful. I do feel that there could have been a bit more support in relation to communication of changes to stop the stress that I often felt.

My manager was very supportive throughout the duration of the program. He ensured my work load was good, especially around exam time as the pressure could become quite a lot. He was also happy for me to help out at apprentice events even if that meant missing part of my working day as he knew that would look good on me. The in-house early careers team who run the apprenticeship were always available, not just from a program point of view but also a pastoral point if any of us faced any problems. I think this is one of the best attributes of the scheme - the amount of support you get internally!

I was able to survive really well on the salary I was on during the program. I think the salary provided is competitive and compared to many other apprenticeships, is above what I would have expected. I lived at home for the majority of the scheme so my salary enabled me to save, commute to work, pay rent and also have a social life. I also was able to move out during the scheme which just shows that it is a reasonable amount to live on.

There are so many opportunities provided by JP Morgan. Just as part of the scheme, you are involved in the hire of the next cohort, social activities for the group and charity events. There also a number of sports teams on site for all abilities and other social groups e.g. a choir. All these activities are voluntary and you can get as involved as you want too but it's great to know all the opportunites are there.

Yes

The apprenticeship program at JP Morgan is a great way to get your foot in the door at one of the best investment banks in the world. There are so many opportunities at this firm, and a wide range of job roles that this is a really good way to get a base knowledge of the industry and to find out exactly what you want to do within the world of banking or technology. The support you get is amazing, better than any other apprenticeship I am aware of and it feels amazing to say you work for such a great company.

My main bit of advice would be to be yourself! JP Morgan hire apprentices based on their drive, energy and passion - not on the knowledge they already have. You don't need to know the banking industry inside and out, that's what the apprenticeship teaches you. The assessment process really focuses on you as a person and if successful you need to carry on showing that drive, energy and passion throughout your career.