Client Service Executive/ Relationship management Review

In my first year as a Relationship management apprentice I work as a client service executive in the Banks financial institutions team, working with Clients of whom are other banks who share business with Barclays. my responsibilities include payment queries/investigations, first point of call queries, distribution etc. From September I will work as a relationship support manager where I will work on my own portfolio of clients being their main point of call for numerous things, managing their relationship with the bank

I have gained an understanding of how payments work, gaining experience working with SWIFT etc. I have been introduced to Barclays and learned the values and how to apply these to the workplace. I have developed existing inter-personal skills and worked with a large team of all ages and cultural origins.

The educational aspect of the programme is exciting and introduces numerous topics that are applicable to the workplace. It sometimes proves a challenge trying to balance this alongside working a full time job however we are allowed 1 day per week to focus on our studies whist working exclusively on the other 4 days

The combination of the two sides of the apprenticeship could do with some minor improvement due to the scale of work involved however overall the structure is organised. I think the way the apprenticeship is set up works well however there is room for improvement. The university's relationship with Barclays seems fair.

Towards starting the apprenticeship it took numerous months to get loaded onto the systems and given access etc. Also in this time the level of support and training was poor due to the amount of work the team has to do. There is certainly room for improvement in terms of support from the employer in terms of the day to day job itself. However the level of support offered in terms of ensuring our wellbeing is well looked after... is more than impressive.

The London institute of banking and finance are a good educational establishment providing us with a degree in "banking practice and management" and well as another certified qualification- Cert. BB&C. The course covers a wide range of topics and introduces us to the banking industry well, providing support throughout.

The current unit we are studying at Uni is 'Relationship management' which is the most applicable of all of our units. This unit relates to some of the stuff we do in our day to day jobs and will put us in good stead over the course of the next few years and beyond.

I am aware there a few different activities on offer in the workplace such as socials for Golf, chess etc. however I have not tried these out. I personally enjoying socialising with the other apprentices on my course over a drink or two on a Friday evening! I love the London lifestyle

Yes

Barclays is a great place to work with fantastic opportunities to excel within the bank to look towards a long and promising career. The apprenticeship itself is a great way of entering the professional world whilst gaining qualificiations that will put you in good stead for the future... for free!

Go for it! Barclays is a great place to work where you will get the chance to meet lots of different people in different roles whilst building a professional network as well as making some lifelong friends. Regardless of which centre you work in , you will be given the opportunity to network with people from all over.