Colleague optimisation manager Review

My Day to day tasks can be very different each day. I find this really engaging and offers me a wide range of skills to learn all the time. Another aspect of having different types of work is that it gives me the opportunity to meet and talk to new people. I also enjoy the responsibility it comes with.

I have learnt a lot of new skills since starting my apprenticeship, one of the skills understanding how different work streams work together in order to get one job done. And also think that my confidence in myself has grown since starting my apprenticeship as i have practiced group talking in front of both of my teams, previously i would have been too nervous to talk in front of a group. Also my knowledge in banking and finance has grown massively.

I thoroughly enjoy every aspect of my apprenticeship. One of my most favorite aspect of it is the challenging tasks that are set to complete. I also enjoy having a timescale to work towards, i feel like this adds more of a challenge to get the work complete before the deadline. I also enjoy my team, we have a close relationship and regularly have quizzes as a team which is great for team building. Another thing i think is great are the barclays values.

I think the apprentice program could be more organised. However i feel like this is due to the organisation that are providing our apprenticeship, not down to the leaders. There was an issue with our apprenticeship as we had a different content, this is why there was a delay with signing on. Since our apprenticeship we have had 2 leaders, so hopefully it will bring more structure.

I receive a lot of support from my team leader, colleagues and mentor. which i find is really helpfull. For example they will always make sure i have enough time to complete any apprentice tasks and make sure i understand where i'm up to with the program. Also if there are any issues with the mentors not meeting deadlines, they will support to help sort the problem.

I feel like we get good support from our training provider in terms of having one to ones. However i feel like the plan for the future (what dates we will be working towards and how long we will be in our department for) is slightly unorganized and seems like there is a lack of confirmation, which gives us a sense of uncertainty.

I feel like my qualification makes me perform better in my role by furthering my knowledge in banking and finances. For example, the RBCB book is really good as it includes information about banking which we havent covered in our training for our specific roles. For example the banking crisis, we learnt as part of our apprentice program.

Yes, there are lots of extra curricular activities which we can get involved in at work such as charity work, union council, life skills events and also fundraising events which can be set up individually. I think it is a really good idea as it gets people out of their comfort zone and involved in new things. I helped run a life skills session which was really engaging.

Yes

Everyone i have met and work with at Barclays are so friendly, encouraging, supportive and approachable. And also there are so many opportunities and different things to get involved with at work. I love coming into work each day and feel like anyone i recommended working here would also have the same opinion as i do.

I would advise anyone applying at Barclays to be yourself and research Barclays news. Have a look on the Barclays website to see what activity has been going on recently. Also have a look at the Barclays values, as we focus a lot on them. If you're open, honest and willing to work hard, that's a fantastic start.