Relationship Manager Apprentice Review

My role is an Assistant Relationship Manager Apprentice within our Commercial Real Estate Finance team. This means that I work within Real Estate Client Coverage with my Relationship Director. Day-to-day we focus on the interaction between clients and ensuring that their experience of banking with RBS/NatWest is as positive as possible. We deal with the first half of the deal which includes negotiations and pricing etc.

I have learnt a lot of soft skills so far within my role such as writing appropriate emails etc. Also, from spending time in another team (still within Real Estate) I have managed to learn how the processes within the bank work which helps a lot with my daily role and how to do many of the tasks that I may continue to come across in my role in the future. I have also learnt how to interact with customers courteously and how to begin to build lasting relationships with them.

I enjoy both my day-to-day role and the vast learning opportunities that the bank provides in terms of training and opportunities to develop your skills. I also enjoy the wide range of topics that are included in the theoretical learning included in the apprenticeship. The communication and knowledge received from BPP could be improved sometimes in aspects such as deadline dates for our assignment and other general queries of the assignment.

The organisation of the programme could be improved in the future. Some problems myself and the other apprentices within my cohort have encountered are that our tutor has previously been unable to answer questions regarding our assignment which was not particularly helpful. Also, the content of the webinars was sometimes very basic and just a regurgitation of what is said in the study guide, however this did improve with time.

I receive a fair amount of support from my employer who has allowed me time out of work to attend things such as welcome days and induction sessions. Also, I am given a fair amount of time to complete my assignment and to watch the webinars that we are required to.

We do not receive huge amounts of support however, we are able to use the virtual learning environment provided by BPP to ask questions to our tutor when necessary. Also, we have been able to take part in webinars to cover the content of the study guide to aid us with our assignment.

I don't think that the content we cover in our qualification links in with my role a great deal. However, certain topics such as the regulation of the banking sector has helped me to understand more about what is expected of bankers and how previous financial crises have occurred because of this.

There are a variety of networking events that take place throughout the year by external parties that the bank deals with; Valuers and Lawyers etc. there are also sessions such as career paths sessions where senior members of the bank share their stories of how they worked their way up to where they are now. There are also many social activities within the team that I work in which allow team members to build relationships outside of work as well as at work.

Yes

The bank itself is a very good organisation to work for as they provide lots of positive benefits to their employees. There is also a lot of room for development and opportunities for job rotation due to the large amount of business areas the bank covers. In my short time with the bank I have noticed they are very keen to develop their employees no matter their level of seniority and this is reflected through all staff who have been willing to help me adjust to my role.

Be willing to learn a lot in a short space of time and challenge yourself daily. There is a lot to learn in terms of just working for the bank and getting used to the processes that they have as well as developing your knowledge of the sector you work in.