Leadership and Management Trainee Review

I currently work in the Customer Department at Transport for Greater Manchester and am set to move around the departments over the course of the four years. My job role varies on a day-to-day basis but I manage projects and deal with customer-facing activities such as travel demand management so basically influencing peoples travel behvaiour on the Greater Manchester travel network.

I have learnt how to communicate effectively with stakeholders I have learnt to be more confindent when presenting I have learnt to put university content into practice so for example; using a stakeholder map in a project plan I have learnt to manage my workload and calendar and manage my time effectively

I really enjoy the programme. It gives me the opportunity to embed what I learn at Univeristy into the organisation and my department. It also allows me to develop my skills and progress in my role. It has given me opportunities to attend events and I enjoy the content being taught at University as I try and apply this in the workplace as much as possible.

My programme is well organised, there are certian units in each year that are built in to help develop our skills over the 4 years and one unit can lead on from one another. However, I would say that sometimes we are learning the next unit before finishing an assignment for the previous unit so there can be a bit of confusion with the overlap and hard to understand two units at the same time. I'd also say that sometimes it is hard to find time to fit in the university assignments alongside other university work set for example; the project - however we are dedicated 20% off the job time for this work so that makes it easier to manage the university demand.

My employer is amazing. I have a dedicated line managers and mentor that I can relate to in my department, which includes the customer experience manager, head of customer development and the customer directorate support officer whom all support me and I can learn from them and their roles. We also recieve support from learning and development (HR) as they have an apprenticeship co-ordinator who is there for support and encourages us to get the most out of our roles in the organisation.

The training provider is the Chartered Manager Institute and they have their own website with guidnace and send us reminders on emails on how to get the most out of our experience. However, there is no one that I have been in direct contact to from the Chartered Manager Institute so I couldn't say I have a good relationship with them. However, I have been provided all the tools needed in order to maximise my potential with my Degree.

There is lots of cross over with my degree and my experience in the organisation. The units we get taught at university apply very well to my existing role as I am based in the customer department and therefore have to manage stakeholder communication and engagment and that was the first unit and assignment at University so it helped develop my role in the workplace. It aslo helps me develop my skills in leadership and management as we have a dedicated skills coach and tutor who lecture us on presentation skills and relevant skills.

Yes, there are lots of opportunities to get involved in activities. The customer development team often go out and socialise outside of work hours. There are weekly wellbeing walks and anyone in the organisation can join in. As part of national apprenticeship week we put on events like apprenticeship marketplace where some schools visited TfGM and we advised them on apprenticeships and what we do here. Some apprentices also attended the GMCA event where apprentices from across Greater Manchester working in the public sector came together to talk about their apprenticeships and was a chance to network.

Yes

Because the apprenticeships give amazing opportunities to work and get paid at the same time as well as fund my degree. You get to meet new people and network and go to events and learn more about the organisation. It has given me the opportunity to develop personal and professional skills.

Learn about the organisation and make sure you are passionate about it. The opportunities are endless and there is a chance to move around the organisation and the job role is varied. Be prepared to work hard but there are lots of benefits like free travel etc and enjoy the experience.