Business Support Assistant Review

I work as a business support assistant in the Marine Special Risks department. Day to day I will correspond with Clients and colleagues in other offices in order to organise the appropriate cover for the Insured/Reinsured. Once this is established, I will prepare slips for the placement and this down our electronic placing platform known as PPL.

I have learnt the process behind the placement of insurance and all the information that is required to be compliant in the job. As well as this I have developed my presentation skills and have become more competent with programs such as Excel, Eclipse, DMS and our new filing system OPUS.

I enjoy learning the modules and the examination based areas of the programme but overall, this is not what I expected it to be like. We are given a lot of tasks to prove our competency in our role which isn't an issue but our manager's word isn't enough to satisfy. It is hard to balance the job itself and the work enforced by the apprenticeship.

The programme is poorly structured. Since day one we have been told a variety of different things which materialise to be incorrect and as a result put us behind on our schedule. Even though this is our own apprenticeship, we are often restricted by what the Growth Company wants as they offer no flexibility to individual needs and wants.

I receive a lot of support from my employer. For example, we receive plenty of time to carry out revision and complete the work given to us by the Growth Company. My colleagues also offer a lot of assistance in terms of teaching me new things and taking me forward so that the apprenticeship qualification can be achieved.

I do not feel we receive enough support form the Growth Company. As previously mentioned they are not flexible and fail to understand that everyone learns differently. Obviously, it is extremely difficult to cater for everyone but even with the smallest of things such as ordering our reading materials, they are strict in letting people progress faster. Although this is true, we do receive workshops to learn the materials which is better than nothing.

The CII qualifications that I have gained enable me have allowed me to perform to a greater standard in my role as the material is easily transferable and strongly relates to the day to day activities I perform. However the competency side of the qualification is very time consuming and can often distract me from carrying out my job role.

There are various extra-curricular activities available to me at work. I am a part of a group called the Marine Under 35's which often hold market related events for those operating in Marine insurance. There are also a lot of charity events in which colleagues can participate to raise money for our chosen charities.

Yes

Willis Towers Watson is a well regarded company with plenty of scope for progression. All of my colleagues are friendly and I found it very easy to settle in and begin learning the role. There is also a lot of social activities outside of work that you can get involved in.

My main advice would be to do some background research into the company. This includes finding out what they actually do and the history surrounding the company. This will assist the individual in working out the culture of the business and finding out whether a job at the company is something that would suit them.