Business Administration Apprentice Review

I am a business administrator apprentice, therefore I do a lot of the admin for my department, this includes finance. I book accommodation, rooms, catering etc. I set up meetings, interviews, safety inspections etc. I deal with all expenses and reimbursements - these include interview candidates, PhD Students and external Professors. I attend development days to improve my skills and better my mind. I have learnt so far to know when to say no - managing time with the 'urgent/not important, urgent/important, /not urgent/important & not urgent/not important'

I have learnt a lot of new skills, especially IT and communication. Within IT I have improved creating and storing business documents. Within communication, my confidence has been improved - especially with the help of my Qube Tutor who has been working with my presentation skills. I think a very important skill I have learnt is to learn from mistakes - whenever I do a task that I m not 100% satisfied with - I will write down a review and point out things to do next time that will improve the task and make it more efficient. A mistake is not necessarily a bad thing.

I am enjoying my programme, I feel very welcome, I feel like a full-time employee, not just an apprentice. I am learning new things and feel like I have a routine now daily. Everyone in my department is really friendly and this increases my confidence when interacting with department members. We have Orange days which are charity days where we volunteer in our department at a local charity/ hospice/ shelter etc. This is very rewarding and also gives you a chance to meet people in a warm environment.

My programme is very good, however, as the apprenticeship I am doing is quite new to the organisation, it doesn't have a structure, I am learning new things through my manager. It would be nice to have a structure of what I will be learning on the job - for example with the Canvas modules I do with Qube, there are various modules (producing business documents, business markets, principles of administration) Some of these I do not touch on in my daily role as it isn't relevant - however to ensure my qualification is the best it can be, I would like to learn about those in my daily role - however I understand this is difficult when it isn't relevant to the organisation.

Everyone in my team are very supportive, if ever I need help, there is always someone to turn to. My manager is helping me become better every day by giving me pointers to improve but always rewarding my effort. Again, as my apprenticeship is new it is also new for my team - therefore my manager, team leaders and colleagues are always looking for new things to do with me as I am practising the same things on a daily basis as this is what is relevant for my team.

My Training provider is very efficient and we have monthly meetings where we review what I have done and also he introduces me to new topics of interest in my apprenticeship that I am unfamiliar with. However, I feel like I want to speak more about the end point assessment - this is because it is very daunting (portfolio interview, project presentation) I feel like we haven't touched on this as it has only been 4 months, despite this, it is going by so quick I feel like I need more preparation.

All of the resources I can access with Qube are all very relevant in my role. Although, some are very difficult to understand in my organisation, therefore I would need to discuss this with someone in GSK (not Qube). Each Friday is my study day (where I do my 20% off the job training) however, some days I feel like I do not know what to do or study that will benefit me, some things that I do, I feel may be a waste of time. With exception of the above, I feel my training is helping my role

Yes, I am a member of the Fitness Centre, this is really encouraging as in addition to the gym, there is a lot of classes and teams that you can meet other employers. There are lots of activities that happen on site where you can network with everybody including leadership.

Yes

I believe GSK is a very good place to start your career as you network and meet with lots of professionals in all different aspects, e.g.. chemistry, biology, communication specialists. It is a place that focuses on personal development, therefore you are always improving yourself to become a better you.

Do not make out that you are someone you are not. GSK welcomes everybody and helps individuals develop themselves - no matter who you are. Accept your weaknesses, everybody has them - don't shy away from applying if you feel you are not good enough - as everybody has special abilities/ talents and this could help you stand out from the rest. Your weaknesses are not a disadvantage, instead something you can work on in your daily role. Be confident in yourself and don't compare yourself to other people.