Finance Apprentice Review

As a finance apprentice my role is extremely far reaching, from taking ownership of various administrative roles such as organising meeting invites, rooms and calendars to devising agendas for every meeting and taking minutes for circulation after meetings have occurred. As well as these tasks I am also responsible for maintaining the effective controls in place for the team to ensure compliance with the Group's risk and control policy and following up on actions should improvements or amendments to current processes be required.

Yes, I have become very well versed in the use of Microsoft Excel which is vital in accountancy. I have also vastly improved both my interpersonal and networking which has been an essential part of my learning and gaining the experience I need to advance in my role and in the apprenticeship.

Though I find the programme enjoyable, I do feel the actually exposure to real accounting is extremely limited, which can be a bit difficult while trying to complete the CIMA accounting exams. I also enjoy the people I work with however it is common to feel like you are less worthy of respect than others as an apprentice which can make working a struggle sometimes.

The programme is, unfortunately, terribly structured in finance. I hear the business admin and technology apprenticeships have a very good and successful structure however the finance programme does not. There is a lot of confusion and miscommunication on a regular basis as well as inconsistencies in the experiences of all the apprentices in different areas and locations. It can be quite demotivating and disheartening.

RBS tries to support us, however the apprentices are very often left out of Early Careers activities, you feel far less worthy than the Graduates and Interns, this is also reflected in the pay with almost a 10k difference between the apprentices and graduates in Finance who complete the same sets of exams and undertake the same amount of work.

BPP are a poor training provider from the experience we have had here. There is a lot of miscommunication and misleading information as well as it being very difficult to get in touch with the right people. The training via webinars is insufficient and can be derailed by attendees from other organisations.

The qualification will stand me in good stead in the future, however right now my role does not require this qualification and my role is not providing any exposure to the topics I study for my exams. It will, however, hopefully provide me with better opportunities in the future once the apprenticeship scheme has been completed.

RBS has a number of opportunities for all of it's employees, there are a number of networks such as the Women's Network and the Rainbow Network (LGBTQ+) as well as the opportunities to attend professional development courses which always include a networking session in the morning and during lunches.

No

I feel there are much better paid and much better structure apprenticeships out there on offer to young people. I feel I have committed to the programme and must, therefore, finish it however I do know of people who have moved onto either other apprenticeships with different organisations or into permanent better paid roles as employees instead of apprenticeships. This doesn't reflect well on the scheme however it need better organising and thought.

Be prepared for a lot of admin work as there is little to be offered in terms of professional skills and exposure to technical areas. It is also important to keep in mind that the organisation is currently undergoing a lot of changes and there are always changes to the people you are working with so you need to be able to adapt to these situations.