Prognosis Application Support Review

My usual day to day role consists of monitoring the dashboards and alerting for our application Prognosis. The application itself provides monitoring of transactional data across the whole bank. Most of my work load comes from data requests given to the team from other areas of the bank such as Major Incident Management (MIM), Social Media etc.

My knowledge on internal systems has been developed since I have started my apprenticeship. My IT skills have also been improved upon arriving; having to apply said skills in my day to day workload and to my apprenticeship objectives. My communication and teamwork skills have been improved via consistent interaction and projects with colleagues.

I find the programme quite enjoyable due to the sheer amount of variety and choice available to me. With so many different areas to the bank, I am able to learn many different skillsets. The inclusion of doing volunteering and charity work as part of the core values also makes this enjoyable.

At the beginning of the programme it was clear that the organisation could've been improved. Base advertising for the apprenticeship simply said "IT apprenticeship" and upon arrival all of the apprentices in my cohort were put into random teams with little choice in the matter. Objectives have been well structured to ensure development.

From my employer I receive a good amount of support. The apprenticeship team within Barclays is incredibly helpful with any questions I have about the apprenticeship objectives and general workplace policies. My colleagues are great and aid me in my tasks, ensuring I always have something to be working on.

I receive a fair amount of support from my training provider (QA). My skills coach, which was assigned to all Barclays apprentices, has been incredibly helpful with keeping me on track with my goals and aiding me with tasks both inside and outside of the regular workshops. Some slight confusion has happened but apart from this they have been very supportive.

There are some level of ties between my job role and my qualification, however there wasn't exactlty a course available which 100% fit my role. In the end I had to go on a business admin qualification which, although it's useful, is very general and not specific enough for the material to be called on regularly.

There is a vast amount of extra-curricular activities available within Barclays. Volunteering and charity work are part of every employee Personal Development plan, which solidifies there values. There is also alot of opportunities to travel to other Barclays sites to spend time with different areas of the bank and learn more about the bank's processes through them.

Yes

Although there are some hiccups to the apprenticeship scheme at Barclays, there's also alot of good. The skills you learn in the role you're placed in are quite interesting and can aid in future career paths. The programme also guarantees a permanent place at the end of it which aids with next steps.

Look up the values before you attend the assessment centres, this is a tip I did which pushed me over the edge at the interviews. Be happy with the role you're placed in and try and get the most out of it as possible. Be prepared for differences between yours and your other apprentices roles, as the placements available are incredibly diverse.