Degree Apprentice Review

My role is in the automation team, so we take in requests from other teams to make their jobs easier and we code these up for them/apply them to the systems weekly, this means we interact a lot with other teams and get a little insight into how their processes work.

Starting this job I had no experience in the IT industry, now I have learnt the basic of several coding languages including REXX, Cobol, python and JCL. These help me to complete my job role, especially REXX as this is the language my team mostly uses. I have also been able to develop other skills through university such as report writing.

I feel as though due to our cohort being the first on this specific type of apprenticeship for the mainframe, there were a lot of teething problems which meant that the first year was a lot more stressful for someone like myself who had no experience, however I think this will improve given the feedback from ourselves for the following years.

This apprenticeship has been referred to many times as a 'make it up as we go along' programme, and after finishing my second year at university, we still aren't sure exactly what we will be doing next year as this hasn't been arranged yet, I think that this should be improved on and a proper 4 year course be marked out prior to the apprentices starting.

We have an employer liaison tutor who acts as a middle man between the university and work which I feel is beneficial, however our line managers have had to be reminded several times that we should be allowed small amounts of time to do uni work in work, so I feel as though the support is lacking here, however the head of mainframe has been very supportive in reminding them of this.

We have 3 tutors in the university each year, and I can say that the level of support has always been of a high standard from each tutor I have come across. This can include coming in over the weekend when deadlines are close to provide extra support, or providing more resources on our online page.

There are a lot of skills that we learn in the university that can be broadly applied to the industry that we work in, such as general coding abilities. However, it does feel a lot of the time as if the degree doesn't relate to my SPECIFIC job role, as all of the apprentices have severely different roles.

There are lots of activities to take part in at work, we have a gym and tennis courts/fields onsite and clubs such as rugby/tennis club are available. They also do courses such as yoga, and offer 'deskercise' classes to help employees as a lot of our time is spent at desks. They also offer self improvement activities such as speaking clubs to help those afraid of public speaking.

Yes

The working environment here is better than previous places I've worked, as they offer things such as starbucks, a large canteen, the clubs and activities already mentioned, flexible working hours, amongst other things. The work we do also feels important as we all contribute to keeping the bank running.

Be enthusiastic, it doesn't matter if you don't have experience as long as you're passionate about what you're applying for. Make sure you make yourself heard in team situations, but don't overpower everyone. Remember the RISES standards as this will make you stand out from others.