2018 Foreign Exchange, Rates and Credit Apprenticeship Review

My role consists of supporting my team on the FX sales desk and making processes more efficient. I complete the admin work for the team and update systems. I write economic reports for clients and track the onboarding experience daily. I make weekly FX calendars which contains macro events in the upcoming week. I organise analysts and economists' marketing trips and arrange their meetings and schedule. I coordinate this with the different sales teams and their external clients. I am responsible for keeping the team up to date with their client interaction data and suggesting possible meetings and topics for clients. However at time I haven't found my tasks challenging, mainly admin based. in the future I would like more challenging projects to learn about financial markets.

I have developed my communication skills and am now able to communicate in a professional business manner. I am now able to write formal emails and use an appropriate tone of voice on phone calls. I have been exposed to a corporate environment and learnt how to build rapport with other colleagues. I have also learnt how to use new systems such as financial systems and chat rooms, such as Bloomberg. However, I would benefit from having more training and support around these systems, such as a 1-1 training lesson and overview of different features.

I thoroughly enjoy my programme and love coming to work. my team are very sociable and happy to answer my questions to improve my learning. I have a safe working environment and feel comfortable talking to other colleagues. there is several social events and rotation programmes so I can learn about the whole business. my training provider is also good and provide quality learning resources and support ( such as training days, online quiz's and a tutor support )

The overall programme is structured well, we have four days at work with one day of personal learning/ study for our exams. we also have organised training days and skills days ( such as presentations skills or excel training ). however, for our exam we only have a total of 3 days of learning/revision with our training provider. therefore the sessions are very intense and have too much content to cover. I would suggest making more sessions such as one at the beginning, a few in the middle and two at the end before the exam.

I receive lots of support from different sources. I have a line manager and my desk colleagues for daily support. I also have a mentor which I have been paired with ( who works at my company but isn't in my team). we also have junior talent as support whilst at work and an external skills coach. there are also helplines and different support groups. however it would be beneficial to have more information about other sources of support rather than trying to find out about it.

I receive continuous support from my training provider for my exam. I have a kick off session where my initial exam content is covered by a tutor and a two day revision session with a tutor just before I take my exam ( which gives me exam tips and additional information). I have an online portal to query questions that I don't understand and then get direct support from an online tutor- they email me with the answer and explanation. I also have a skills coach that I meet for monthly reviews and together we construct revision plans. there is also an app that I can use to watch videos on my exam topics. however, a couple of training days with a tutor covering exam content as we learn it would be beneficial in the middle of our course.

my qualification helps me to get a better understanding of the financial services industry as a whole and lets me learn how my sector of work (FX) fits into the wider markets. I have also learnt lots of product knowledge which is specific to my role. I am also aware of regulations that apply to my job and how important they are to protecting the firm and its clients. I am also able to use what I have learnt about economic factors in my exam in my day to day role when writing client summaries and explaining changes in currencies.

there are many different activities to get involved in such as after work socials with my team and socials organised specifically for the apprentice network. there are also many opportunities to volunteer. there are different sports clubs such as football and netball. there are also networking breakfast's to get to meet senior members of staff in the firm and ask questions. however, some of the events could be better advertised as usually I only find out about the event until after it has happened. a webpage of all events coming up would be useful

Yes

I have learnt so much on my apprenticeship and it has been a great alternative to university. I am able to earn a salary whilst getting a level 3 qualification. I have also been able to get hands on experience and develop my social skills as well as develop my financial knowledge. I have built a professional network and now have experience in the industry. I am also supported and enjoy coming to work. I am made to feel like an employee rather than an apprentice

to do research on UBS and find out why it is different from other competitors. also to learn about the financial industry as a whole by reading the news and following events. I would also recommend getting some work experience before applying. they should also thoroughly prepare for their interview and prepare questions to ask the interviewer. they should also research the job role and apply for a role that suits their skills and talents.