Premier Relationship Banker Review

My role involves contacting customers on the Premier portfolio on a regular basis (once or twice a year, ideally) to review their accounts and see how we can help them achieve their financial goals, make their banking more effective or to hear any concerns that they may have. This is a challenging but diverse role as our customers' individual needs vary wildly. My role requires a high level of knowledge across a number of banking products including savings and investments, mortgages and unsecured lending. My role also requires me to adhere to a number of regulatory and legal requirements as standard in the financial services industry.

My apprenticeship has afforded me the opportunity to increase my financial capability and knowledge greatly. Prior to this role, I handled money carelessly and didn't give much thought to the future. Now that I'm more knowledgable, I've been able to save regularly, look at investment options and even plan my retirement. I've also been able to increase my communication skills, particularly when it comes to employing empathy and active listening in discussions. Additionally, I have become much more organised through experience of scheduling my appointments and managing my workload across my day to day job and apprenticeship work.

I do enjoy my programme. The workload is very demanding at times as I reach the end point of my apprenticeship while trying to maintain a high standard of performance in my day to day role, but the knowledge I have gained will be beneficial to me for the rest of my career, regardless of whichever role I end up in.

The programme has been structured well both in terms of the third party company guiding us through the modules, and by our business. We have been assigned a work coach who regularly reviews our work and provides information on the next steps, clearly laying out expectations of us in advance. The business itself has gathered all of the apprentices on my office floor into one team with a single team leader, which is a great benefit as we are all able to share best practice and learn from each other, with leadership that is familiar with the apprentice programme and what that entails.

My employer provides the systems and materials I require to perform my duties and apprentice work, and also provide ample time for study to ensure I am meeting my apprentice objectives. In addition, I also have a wide network of more experienced colleagues who gladly provide knowledge and support should I require it.

I receive plenty of support from my work coach who is appointed by the training provider. We meet face-to-face on at least a monthly basis, more freqently when we are approaching deadlines. I have felt supported and had a point of contact throughout my journey so far, with access to materials and information whenever I require it.

My apprenticeship has had a critical role in increasing my performance in my role. As someone with no background in banking, I believe I would have struggled to grasp many banking concepts had I not had access to the RBCB qualification. Using information in my RBCB textbook coupled with on the job experience, I was able to quickly comprehend banking products, regulatory guidelines and the function of financial markets as a whole.

Our company is very enthusiastic about work-life balance, and encourages activities which have a charitable or otherwise beneficial effect on the local community. We are entitled to one "citizenship day" per year which we are encouraged to participate in for a charitable cause. I was fortunate enough to work at Dogs' Trust for one day later last year, which was a really enjoyable and valuable experience.

Yes

I would recommend Barclays to anyone who is hard-working, flexible, ambitious and looking to apply customer service concepts to a complex, ever changing field. This is a comfortable, diverse and welcoming working environment where you are well compensated for your efforts, and supported fully with ongoing training and plenty of scope for advancement.

Barclays don't hire a specific type of person, they are genuinely interested in varied perspectives from all backgrounds, so if you're applying for a role within Barclays definitely allow your natural character to come through during the recruitment process. Customer focus is at the core of Barclays, so make sure that strong customer service skills are something you already have or are willing to work at, even if you're not applying for a customer-facing role.