Project Management Higher Apprentice Review

My day to day activities involve working with the different teams that make up project controls. I help ensure there is a smooth delivery of the projects we undertake. I have the opportunity to attend review meetings as well as undertaking my own projects in which I present to management.

I have started to learn what project management consists of, with no knowledge prior to starting, through a mixture of; in house training, my APM qualification training at college and my day to day work. I have also improved on; my making my meetings more effective, my presenting confidence and my team working.

I thoroughly enjoy my programme as I am constantly learning at college and on the job. There is also a lot of support through the scheme from; previous apprentices, placement/line manager and business coordinators. I am also made to feel apart of any team I work with and feel as if the work I do is valued and plays a part in the delivery of a project.

My programme is very well structure as I get given a plan of how my next 2 years will look like from day one and there are any updates we are made aware with plenty of notice. One there is all our inhouse/ external training dates as well as our placement start and finish dates.

There is a lot of support from the employer through: line managers, placement managers, business coordinators and the new talent development team. There are also social event where all the apprentices come together for team building. Getting to know the other apprentices is great as we can learn from their experiences.

The tutors at Estio are always happy to answer any questions we may have during lessons but also send out lots of helpful recourses via email which is great for looking back on when its time to start revising. They also have small tests at the end of each training course consolidating our learning.

It has helped me perform better as I am able to put what I learn into practice in the work place as well as help my understanding of the different processes and procedures we have here at National Grid. I also feel I am able to complete tasks a lot easier and quicker as I understand what it is that I am doing and so know what should/ shouldn't be included making me more efficient.

Yes there are different sports teams you can join such as football every week. Professional networking event are arrange through out the year for us new starters. This is organized through our society called Newnet who also arrange lots of site visits for new starters which is great to understand the different works we undertake.

Yes

They offer a qualification whilst also giving you lots of experience in the work place were they will push you to succeed. They offer plenty of support and have lots of actives for new starters. There is also plenty of opportunity to go to site and actually see the projects which really helps with understanding the work you are doing. National Grid also offer very competitive salaries.

Be as honest as you can be with you experiences when applying as they want to learn about the individuals applying. Once at the interview stage the biggest pieces of advice is being yourself as they will want to see how you interact with other people during lunch brakes and group tasks.