Apprentice Data Analyst Review

I have several reports which I update daily and send out to various franchise and departments leaders. These reports show our call volumes across different areas (inbound/outbound) etc, how many bookings we make from those calls as well as other information. I am also responsible for maintaining these reports. Also, once a week I produce a report to show how many of our appointments have been converted to actual sales, which is broken down by brand, team leader and team member, which is used for a variety of purposes in the business. Outside of these I perform any data analysis tasks which arise, for example I recently downloaded all of our past email data, converted it into a suitable excel format and imported it into our software which could then be used to forecast email volumes in the future. These kind of tasks are done on an ad hoc basis.

I have learned many new skills since starting my role here. The majority of my role involves excel, although I had some experience with Excel beforehand I feel that I have vastly improved my knowledge and am now able to use excel far more efficiently. Some functions of Excel I had never used before such as Macros I can now confidently use in my day to day tasks. I have also had the chance to use software I have not seen before such a Verint.

I thoroughly enjoy my role here at Pendragon. The work can be challenging and sometimes requires a lot of thought, but with good time management it is very rarely overwhelming. Working here has also given me the opportunity to work with some fantastic people, I have several good relationships with my colleagues, this aspect in particular helps to make my role very rewarding.

The role itself isn't particularly structured, however that is not the nature of this job role. As well as the tasks I have to complete daily or weekly I need to be on hand to tackle any data analysis task that comes up, which is why time management is so important in this role.

I receive a good amount of support from my employer, if I am ever struggling with a task I can comfortably approach my line manager who is always on hand to help, as well as this my line manager usually checks up on me periodically to ensure I am on the right track, so I never really struggle for long.

My training provider was 3aaa who are not running my course any longer. The help that 3aa provided was reasonable, I had a monthly meeting with a member of 3aa staff where I was able to go over any issues. However I did find myself slipping behind in the class as the teachers often covered the material quickly and didn't explain thoroughly.

The qualification I was working towards with 3aa wasn't particularly relevant to my actual job role. The qualification was using advanced programming languages such as R and SQL, whereas my role mostly utilises Excel. However I have been informed that the new course I will be starting shortly has been specifically designed to me more relevant to my job role.

Pendragon often organise social events for staff members to attend outside of work, such as going out for a meal. There is also a notice board where several sports teams are advertised for team members to join if they wish. This is not something I have been interested in pursuing, but the option is there.

Yes

Pendragon is such a big company there are plenty of opportunities for career growth if you are fortunate enough to obtain a job here. Also, my experience has been that hard work and commitment is recognised and rewarded, there are also systems in place to provide you with help and support if things are not going well.

Know that even if you enter at a low level, if you show your willingness to work hard then the company will pick up on this quickly. Be ready for a fast paced, constantly changing environment. If you spot the opportunity to make a system better, even if you haven't been asked, feel free to volunteer this.