Sales & BD Apprentice Review

I am currently placed under a product management role so I take part in strategic positioning while looking at our cyber portfolio. This involves bringing solution and product leads in to discuss changes to sales peoples actions. This could be from organising workshops and collating information on a shared programme to help creating sales material/ collateral.

I've learnt to be more confident in face to face meetings along with Skype calls with multiple people. This is a base skill that BAE likes to encourage us to begin with and helps us settle well in the company. I am also able to develop my organisational skills as we are responsible with many diverse tasks, so its good to be on top of everything.

I'm thoroughly enjoying my time in BAE. This is partly due to the amount of opportunities the company gives us. For example, there are monthly networking events held in London. Another aspect is the how we are given training days in different locations such as Guildford, London and Leeds.

We were the first ever Sales Apprentices for BAE and we were looked after very well from the start. My manager always had something for me to get on with and helped me understand the company very well. Our university was also very organised and helpful. The company and uni worked well together and always took time out for the other.

My manager is always a text, Skype or email away (especially helpful because she is based in another office). Management that handles the apprenticeship scheme are also at hand whenever I have a question. They also helped me with the basics in settling in an office environment. My cohort gets quarterly calls from our scheme manager and also have a monthly calls from another manager.

Consalia for the most part organises and creates engaging workshops in university. We are encouraged to email our course leads whenever we feel and even have dedicated times where they are free in their offices. We are able to confidently engage in thee workshops and have enough information to complete the learning modules after.

Workshops and learning days in university (along with Consalia) are very relevant to the BAE cohorts placements. Learning about sales theory and business entrepreneurship really does help us have more understanding in sales practices and also makes us ask more questions when learning BAE's sales model. Its does make us more aware of how sales effects a business like BAE.

There is 'cocktails of the month' where people from different projects and pats of the business share what they're working on and what's new. After that we all convene at a local pub where everything is paid for. This is a great way to get to know people and network.

Yes

Its one of the giants in the industry that really care about the development of all employees. We are treated with respect and have been given responsibilities from the off, which is a great way to push apprentices. There are so many aspects of the business which is really interesting.

Be calm and be yourself when in 1-1 / video interviews, make sure to present yourself well and show off your inter-personal skills. For group interviews/ assessments centres try to be bold and confident. BAE is full of confident and innovative people who love challenges so be sure to show these skills in front of your assessors.