Technical Consultant Review

My role varies depending on what work loads I have and if I am aligned to a project or not. When not on project I will work from my main office in Bracknell, focusing on self paced learning from HPE and QA, our education partner. I manage my own time and what work to focus on for the day, unless a more important workload comes my way.

From the short time I have been here, I have been able to work on my interpersonal and presentation skills. On the technical side I have learnt about Microsoft products/solutions, PowerShell, and how to use Azure. HPE also have days set up development days every month or two, so that we can improve different skills. We can suggest topics for these days as well so it is more beneficial or adapted to for us. From QA i have learnt about data communication and network security, System Development Life-cycle (SDLC) model.

I have been enjoying the work aspect more than I thought I would. Meeting new people and creating a network has been a good experience. The team I am apart of have been very friendly and understanding that as an apprentice, I will not know much. The majority of my team have offered to help me where I have struggled and offered suggestions for how to move forward. The education side has had some flaws though. the content we received lately has been lacking quality, with no improvement from starting a new module. we have been in talks with QA to try and resolves these issues, but this is ongoing. This has been quite frustrating and so has made me not like this aspect of the programme.

We had a four week induction to the company and the organisation, which equipped me with the knowledge I felt I need to star working. After that I had another week induction into my team and what the had planned for myself which repeating some of the content but also clarified what I would be doing. The support received from my manager and mentors has been very beneficial. I have fortnightly 1:1 meetings with my manager and monthly calls with mentors. Studying is self-paced and so is down to my own prioritisation.

As mentioned above I receive a lot of support from my employer through training days, 1:1 calls with my manger and a mentor systems to help me develop. Any support that I could need is easily accessible and the HR team are quick to find a solution to any issues I have had.

We have been assigned a skills coach who we meet individually fairly frequently to ensure we are keeping up with our work-based portfolios and for and queries/issues to be brought up. These sessions I feel I benefit from and so enjoy having them. We have workshops for our modules that currently have been hit or miss for usefulness in aiding our degree work. In addition, the weekly work we are given online also has the same issue and as a result I feel the support we receive, in aiding our degree can be improved.

Currently I have completed two modules and am moving onto my third. The training I am receiving is just a foundation and has not been beneficial to my job role. I haven't been able to apply much to my role but I believe that I will be able to when I progress to the next year and finally specialising in the last year.

Yes! We have social events with the interns occasionally and many voluntary options to join. In my office, they offer events and classes such as yoga to help keep people active. Recently I was part of an event aimed at getting primary school students interested in IT industry. The students came to our office where we had set up different activities for them to participate in.

Yes

- The work environment is very friendly and supportive. - Being able to work independently. - The support I have received has been more than I have expected. Everyone wants you to succeed. - The opportunities that are available as you progress look very promising. - Extra curricular activities are fun to be apart of. - Being able to travel for work has been a fun new experience.

- Be articulate in interviews - Able to accept criticism - DON'T BLAG (they're experts) - Remember to ask questions (e.g. what will be expected of you etc.) The application, interviews and assessment days were what you would expect. Make sure you are prepared for them and don't worry if you think you did badly in a question or activity.