Information Security Apprentice Review

My role consists of learning and understanding security principals, tools and methods overall and those which we use in Unilever in order to protect our processes and data in house. I have a focus primarily on the cloud or cloud security. There are many other areas of InfoSec but i specialise or a least want to specialise in the cloud

I have slowly developed my exisiting skills from the second i joined Unilever. I am quickly picking up new skills however which are required for my role and it will take me a long while to perfect them. However i feel with the next 2 years of my apprenticeship i will be able to consolidate all my learning

I really enjoy the programme which i am on. It can be stressful sometimes with 3 university moduels, exams to prepare for and work within my day job to complete but i find it enjoyable. It has been confirmed i am in the correct field of work by my enjoyment of my role.

This course is extremely well strucuted despite the fact there are 3 governing bodies. The Open University our training provider, manpower our employer and Unilever our host employer all maintain good relationships, communication and clear requirments for our well being which makes the course well structured and run smoothly regardless

I receive a very good amount of support from Unilever which is my host employer but fairly limited support from Manpower my employer. To be honest there is little support i do actually need from Manpower so i am not saying they don't fulfil their role as they do their job role well. However i do see very little support from them directly

i actually receive very little help from the OU. They always mention you can contact them and always suggest there is someone to reply and help with anything but it really depends which tutor you have. My practise Tutor [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyApprenticeship Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] who i see every few month is extremely good, reliable and i know i can reach out to her for anything but several other tutors do not even give replies to email.

My qualification quite often reflects on my role. Not 100% information security focused by any means and in fact only several topic the OU have convered such as encryption etc are secrutiy related. However many network and sever related learnings apply to my work and it is helpful in the sense.

There are a lot of extra-curricular activities to get involved in, in my work. There are running clubs, yoga and many more. I personally do not take part in any of these but i will most likely be joining one soon and they seem quite social and interactive opposed to many after work clubs i have experienced before

Yes

The environment cultured by Unilever helps facilitate growth in a helpful, considerate yet useful way in which i can improve my academic knowledge by applying to to a real world enterprise which is full of smart and helpful people who have no problem helping you out. I am also seen as an equal and not an apprentice which means more than i can make out in 50 words

Unilever are looking for people who are smart and get things done so it is no use if you are straight As but don't do any work, or vice versa. My advice to anyone applying to Unilever would be dress smart, show enthusiasm, prove you are smart and get things done, and contribute to discussion a lot but not too much where it is dominant, find a nice balance.