Hardware Management Apprentice Review

I am a hardware management apprentice and as the company I work for leases hardware to other companies I ensure that when their license is over or they would like to replace it because it's broken. I correspond with them through emails and phone calls to arrange the collection. I use a software called SAP to arrange these collections. I work with people in other teams for projects or to provide information or to seek it.

I have developed my typing skills quite a lot - when i started I had an average of 63 words per minute and now its up to about 74 wpm. Another skill I have developed is using excel - there are a few things I didn't know how to do such as filter columns or change the format of number to the time or date. A new skill I have learnt is using SAP along with the Bloomberg software.

I really enjoy the Bloomberg part of my program - I feel like a valuable and contributing member that can share their insights and contribute to the innovation that happens here daily - it's nice to feel like you are making beneficial changes at the job you are in and to feel like you have a voice to be heard which is rare at most places; I think I've learned valuable skills here that will never leave me. In regards to the QA side - I really dislike it - the things we learn are quite irrelevant to not just my job role but those of other apprentices I have conversed with. In my specific apprenticeship I think I attend QA for a total of 2 weeks over the 12-18 month period I have at Bloomberg which doesn't seem to make much sense. I don't feel like the teachers there have an in depth knowledge of the topics as I've noticed they are unable to answer many questions. The tasks are also not necessarily hard but extremely time consuming and sometimes request for unrelated things to be presented that can be hard to acquire if it isn't naturally occurring in your job role - e.g. evidence you handle sensitive financial information. This is really annoying because when you have much important work to complete at your real job and you're somewhat falling behind and you also have a lot of QA work to complete it can be very overwhelming and annoying when it feels so irrelevant.

I feel like my program is extremely well organised. On my first day I was debriefed - informed of my points of contact to call if I was in need of help or support. I was told when all my education days were for the year so could plan in advance and everything has gone accordingly in regards to this. \ My program is very poorly structured. It doesn't make much sense to me at all - as I said previously my 12-18 month duration here I have approx total of 12 days at QA learning and the rest of the time is QA work i complete at work - I feel like there should be a designated day a week for apprentices to complete their work and they are only allowed to continue with their "work work" once they are up to date with everything which shouldn't be hard if you do it weekly. I think there should be more days when I'm at QA e.g. a week a month. I would also have it so I had the same tutor or 2 for all of my sessions so I could build a a rapor with them and understand their capabilities.

I receive a lot of support from my employer. There is an apprentice in my department in the year above me so he can often help with things I don't understand or empathize with me as he walked the same path I once did a year ago. I have a mentor who is another team which I think is a nice idea as its nice to have a breath of fresh air and helps me to engage with other teams more - she 's closer to my age and did an internship once so can also relate to my situation. My whole team is also very supportive - I never feel like I can't ask them for help and if I do it's simply because they're busy not because I feel they aren't willing. My manager is also extremely supportive - she ensures I shadow other teams to gain a broader understanding of the company and tries to push me to build my network - pushing me in the right direction to prosper in a business like this which i really appreciate. There are frequent events held for apprentices which is nice for us to spend some more time together as we're all in different departments and many different qualifications. I honestly don't think I could ask for anything more.

I don't think I get any useful support from QA but on the other hand I haven't asked for any. I do feel one main thing with support is feeling like you have it if you don't need it and I don't feel like I would have it if I needed it. My skills coach is the only person that has ever asked me if I need support but I get the impression she means if I am unhappy with anything not actual support with my work. As I said previously, because I go to QA for such a little amount of time I can't get all the questions out I would like to ask and can't have things explained to me - which is one of the reasons I wish the amount of days I went there was extended so I would have more times to ask these questions - I also don't think the education days should be done in blocks because people need a day to breathe - overloading and overwhelming them with lots of information over the courser of 2 days is not a good idea.

Nothing at all - I honestly think if I didn't go to QA I would be better at my job because I would have more time to focus on it.

There is an endless amount of events and extra curricular activities at Bloomberg - it really is great.

Yes

Because I can't fault it

Be yourself - get into some voluntary work and make sure you can talk about it well along with problems you've faced in the past and a good resolution.