Leadership and Management Higher Apprentice Review

For the first few months I have been in the position of an Essential Banker, fulfilling the basic day to day roles within the branch such as manning the till, helping customers with the self service devices and generally patrolling the banking floor looking to be of assistance in any way I can. More recently I have progressed to the role of Moment Banker, meaning I now sit down with customers on a one-to-one basis and solve any issues they have that way.

My skills as a professional have increased hugely, as even though my prior roles outside of Barclays were customer orientated, by ability to maintain myself as a professional in the work place now has become far more refined. I have also had the chance to explore different communication styles and how each customer will expect a different type of service, from friendly and casual to total informality and professionalism.

I do enjoy the feeling of progression of the programme, as having a goal in mind and knowing that you are continually working towards it is a very rewarding feeling. I have also enjoyed the feeling of belonging in the branch, as I have been lucky to work within a team that accepts me and is happy to work alongside me. The work itself can admittedly begin to drag at times, though with the speed of progression the course offers, it often isn't long before you have moved on to the next stage and the monotony vanishes.

The programme has a base structure that each apprentice follows along their journey within Barclays, having set time frames after which we progress to the next stage. I have been lucky to have been able to keep on top of my schedule and progress according to plan, however since each apprentice's progression is down to their individual manager, those who are not able to chase things up or are content to stay working as they are, often find themselves lagging behind the other apprentices in terms of progression.

I have personally had 3 different managers, each with vastly different managerial styles that would affect their level of support for me, some being very keen to give me all the support I need, while others would prefer to show me what was expected of me and allow me to work it out on my own. I cannot complain however, as even when I feel as though I am not being considered when decisions are made, I often find that without my knowing, I have been placed in a better position than I was previously.

The study blocks themselves can be overwhelming when it comes to the sheer amount of information we are given around our studies since we only meet for a short time every few months, however even after you have left the lecture site, there is always someone to contact with any issues regarding the work who can help and even mark sections of the work prior to the due date to make sure you are on the right track. We also have regular calls with course leaders to check up on us and make sure we are not struggling.

Since the qualification we are studying for is based purely around management and leadership skills, there is very little overlap at this stage of the programme as we have not yet progressed to positions of leadership within the bank. There are some overlaps however, such as how to self assess personality characteristics and how to deal with other individuals who's characteristics oppose your own, though these are few and far between at this stage. I expect that the theory we learn at university will come into use in the near future though

For apprentices there is not too much with regards to extra-curricular activities, since we work during the week and have a lot of study work to do in our free time. While there are no conventional activities for us to take part in, the nature of meeting every few month for university means that our cohort is quite closely knit and so spend our free time together going out for meals and making use of our allowance at the bar.

Yes

The business seems to be very family orientated, to the extent that once you have established yourself as someone who works hard and does their job, you are more than likely to be accepted into the branch family and looked after as such. There is plenty of room for progression and lots of recognition for hard work, which makes it feel very rewarding to do well.

Barclays will always expect you to be your best, whilst on the job and out of work. We are pushed and encouraged to do better, not just for the bank, but to self improve as well. This process can seem daunting at first but the self improvement is very useful. It must also be noted that on the leadership and management course particularly, not everyone is a stereotypical management figure, since there are many different styles of management. Don't think that because you struggle to speak publically or have trouble telling others what to do to their face that management is not for you. The ability to look at a situation, analyse it and come up with an inventive and creative solution is greatly sought after.