Business Management Apprentice Review

I spend 20% of my time studying and then rest of my time on the job working alongside a team of business managers. I have the responsibility of managing 3 contracts which we have in defence. I am given the opportunity to do this independently but I always have a senior level of staff to help me if I need them. I manage P&L statements as well as raise purchase orders and help manage the team to ensure the contract runs as smoothly as possible. I also get the opportunity to join in on customer meetings.

I have not only learnt skills through my apprenticeship course but also within skills courses in BT and on the day-to-day job. Coming into a completely new role there was a lot to learn but learning this alongside skills and theories from the apprenticeship allows me to achieve the most from the role.

I really enjoy my programme and I would 100% recommend to someone if they were interested in a business management apprenticeship. In BT it’s in such an exciting sector, especially in defence theres so much opportunity for new things and contracts to be formed. You also get to experience so many different roles which I really enjoy.

Within BT my apprenticeship has been very well structured and the management team are incredibly attentive and helpful to all of our needs. This is the first time Defence has had apprentices so they have not used QA as an apprentice training provider before. They have some organisational errors in booking their workshops etc but as soon as we told our managers about this they escalated it to QA

The amount of support we receive is second to none. Our managers are excited and keen to have us on the team and want us to succeed fully so support us in doing this. We had a couple of small issues with Qa and they had a very quick turn around with sorting this out and escalating it to our skills coach

It is slightly difficult with our training provider as I think I am still adjusting to the transition from A-Levels to higher education. It is interesting to see how independent it is and we have raised concerns that maybe we would like a few more checks in place to ensure we are on track with our learning.

Our training provider gives us theories on our modules such as ‘managing and leading’ and ‘managing projects’ by learning this theory we can apply it into our workplace. I have also had the opportunity to reflect on past project and see what has gone wrong and what could have potentially improved the project by the theory I learned.

I am the attraction lead for the south west within enterprise. This means I have had the opportunity to do promotional assemblies to schools to tell them about how great BT apprenticeships are. This also has allowed me to create formal and informal events between apprenticeships within my region which is a great way to network. We don’t have any sports teams though which I think would be really exciting.

Yes

So far my experience has been nearly faultless. It is Defences first time at Having apprentices and I think they are adapting very well to the new additions and are trying to expose us to as many possibilities as available. The opportunities to travel and network are endless and there is an amazing community feel to the workplace.

Give it you’re all and be confident in yourself. BT is a big company and you may feel intimidated but don’t. Everyone is lovely and more than willing to help you with whatever you need. You may be a small cog in a massive machine however the work that you are given and help with is incredibly important and genuinely makes a difference.