Communications Officer Review

I am a Communications Officer in the Fast Stream Marketing Team. Daily tasks include monitoring social media and posting relevant information for candidates who are applying to the Fast Stream, negotiating with university Careers Services to organise events to promote the Fast Stream amongst other more Ad Hoc tasks. Daily interactions mostly consist of communication with Careers Services as mentioned above and with Fast Streamers to delegate roles in upcoming marketing events. External interactions are between myself and the public on social media. This consists of answering questions and resolving queries about the Fast Stream and any of it's schemes. Ensuring that all content published on social media is to the appropriate standard and maintaining the integrity of our communications with the public. This often includes ensuring that all content is current, correct and relevant as well as presented in a way which is likely to engage with the reader and make them want to learn more. I run events at universities across the country for students to go to and learn about the Civil Service. These can range from employer presentations to interactive sessions in which we help students t demonstrate the core competencies that all civil servants must perform to and demonstrate in their daily work.

By the end of the 2 year apprenticeship I will, assuming the correct standards are met, have gained a level 4 qualification in Business. That the formal learning, but the best aspect of a job in the Civil Service is the personal development that you undergo. I've learnt to communicate effectively and to be confident in the actions that I perform. The role that you are in will affect your development in rather unique ways. Each person will have their own areas in which they excel, but they will continue to develop skills throughout their career and will often be in situations that stretch their abilities and ultimately aid in their development. The Fast Track Apprenticeship has 2 core sets of learning an NVQ and a HNC. The HNC is structured as set learning days in which you are out of the office and in a classroom-esque sessions. These are once a month. The NVQ is a more traditional coursework arrangement in where you meet with your assessor at the beginning of the month and they will set a task to be completed for your next meeting.

The work that I've been provided with has been of value and importance. There has been a level of responsibility given to me from my first day. The work is intelectualy stretching and fulfilling. The team I am with has been fantastic, they are welcoming and understanding. They have utilised my skills to provide me with work that fits my skill set. Overall I've been thoroughly enjoying my placement and the work I'm doing. I work towards a goal and get to see the results of my efforts which is extremely rewarding.

I feel like my actions are appreciated and valued by my team and specifically my manager as he has expressed this to me. The work that I do helps to raise application numbers for our graduate schemes and the results are acknowledged. I've been given lead on events already within a few months of working with the Civil Service and in my 3rd week was given a series of events that I co-lead on.

The structure seems to be fairly spontaneous as events are few and far between. However that being said the events themselves have been engaging, interesting and well delivered. (For example the Deputy Prime Minister attended our induction expressing his views on apprenticeships and how much he values them.) The training provided seems to be adequate and well intended, I am now 5 months into the Job and have not been to any training as of yet so I won't comment on quality of training. We have study days that are given to us (one per month) we can use this as and when we want and in any way we want. We may take this in the office or out of the office depending on what we prefer or what benefits us more. (Being at work may provide a more structured environment for learning though you are likely to get called to help on projects and such which can detract from your learning day.) We are provided a mentor and an assessor by the Apprenticeship stakeholder Capita. This took a long time (personally it took 2-3 months though the apprenticeship official starts in January.) My team organised for me to have a mentor within the team who would "coach" me so that I could perform to the best of my abilities as soon as possible.

Not much contact has been made between Capita (Training provider) and myself though when it has been made it is usually helpful, or at the very least informative. I struggle to find information towards guidance though most of the process is fairly straight forward, the "coursework" assessments we are given do have guidance in them that help explain some of the technicalities of Business to though without prior experience/qualifications, such as myself.

Simply put if you ask for help it will be given. I can rely on my team to help as and when I require it and they have been very supportive in terms of my health related issues. (support in finding reasonable adjustments and medical attention/leave when needed.)

The salary is a competitive salary with London Weighting (for those in London of course) which covers the cost of commuting into London everyday. Financially I am well looked after as it is a very good salary for an Apprenticeship.

There is a Gym in our building and all Civil Servants have access to the plethora of clubs, societies and activities that we have.

Yes

The Civil Service provides a great working environment. It provides you with everything you need for development and more. From flexible working hours to working from home (Smart working) the Civil Service will provide you with more ways to enjoy work than you can imagine.

Be yourself for the application process try to relax (I know that can be difficult) as it will help you to perform at your best. The application process is there to bring out the best in each candidate.