Project Management Apprentice Review

As a project management apprentice, I support the delivery of change in the business through projects and programmes. On a day to day basis I support the project manager, am given responsibility to chair my own meetings and manage stakeholders of different levels of seniorities. I ensure that work is being progressed to baselined timescales, staying within budget and being delivered to the expected quality standards.

I have been able to build my communication skills, both verbally and written to best interact and engage with stakeholders. I am able to communicate appropriately to stakeholders with the amount of information they need and via the desired channel. My confidence has grown majorly as a result, reflecting through my ability to now chair my own meetings with senior business stakeholders and to present to large audiences. I have also developed my time management skills. Whilst being an apprentice, it can prove challenging to balance academic study work with on-the job work. I have learnt to better prioritise and organise my workload.

I thoroughly enjoy the programme. I have been fortunate to be placed on various projects and programmes across different business areas. From these projects I have learnt so may skills and broadened my knowledge on the most effective and efficient ways to manage projects and stakeholder expectations as well as looking to ways in which I can develop my toolkit to deliver in a more agile way. I have also grown a huge passion for the aviation industry as a result. The academic learning has enabled me to understand the Project management Fundamentals/best practise of the Association for Project Management body of knowledge. This has allowed me to understand Project Management as a whole and to challenge any processes not followed in accordance with the theory I have learnt, understanding why this may need to be adapted to suit different situations.

My programme is structured very well. As apprentices, we rotate five times over the 2.5 year course into different business areas of our directorate Business Transformation. These placements allow apprentices to gain a wider understanding of the different areas of the airline and the different objectives of projects based on which portfolio area they sit within ie: Customer Experience or Commercial. This also allows for a greater network of colleagues to build rapport with.

I receive a great amount of support from my organisation. I have an apprentice programme manager, a line manager and a work manager in whom I frequently meet to discuss developmental progression and to address any challenges I may be facing. We are also given adequate levels of training through a range of courses and skill bites offered by the company. We are allocated a study day a week to ensure e have the time to complete academic study work.

I am provided with adequate levels of support from my training provider prior to exams, I attended classroom sessions for face to face teaching of the theory as well as webinars. I have also had workshops to best help me to prepare for the End Point assessment which covers interviewing and presentation techniques. I was given information to help me to prepare for all exams/assessments. The training provider frequently visits the organisation for a face to face review, where our developmental progression is reviewed and assured that the work we are undertaken is valuable in terms of working towards our qualification; being given experience from various Project Management areas.

I feel that the theory based learning from the training provider helps me to better perform my role as I am taught best practise form the Association of Project Management. This helps me to understand the reasoning behind each project management component and how to effectively perform. It also allows me to challenge any business processes that may not follow the standard in the same way; enabling me to attempt to make a process more efficient according to the standard.

There are various activities. At BA, we have a charity I partnership with Comic Relief; Flying Start. Through this there are various opportunities to get involved to fundraise; participating in physical challenges for a great cause such as the Tough Mudder, Sky Diving and half-marathons. I have also attended a three day teamwork and leadership course at Bowles; in which I participated in various teambuilding activities to develop the way in which I work with others to meet an objective. There are also various socials through away days and apprentice forums!

Yes

British Airways is an amazing company to work for with a huge legacy. They are the leading airline in the UK and the nation's flag carrier; I feel extremely proud to work for them. At BA, there are so many opportunities to develop, with various roles within the organisation and clear paths of progression. Colleagues are very supporting. Each role provides an opportunity to learn and develop skills whilst working on exciting pieces of work in an ever evolving industry of aviation.

My tip would be to research the job role you are interested in and the company - their history and vision. It is important to highlight how you can best contribute towards the direction the company want to take and to show how your skills can be beneficial for the company.