Project Management Degree Apprentice Review

My role focuses mostly on reporting and generating data to support the wider business in assessing how well we are performing. A lot of my role is project controls based, with use of excel and similar tools to extract information and interpret in to make it digestible for upwards reporting through the chain.

This year I have mostly been developing existing skills I formed throughout my years on the scheme, gaining new insights into specific ways of working which I previously had not been exposed to. Predominantly I am improving my excel skills and my stakeholder management skills because I spent a lot of my time working closely with others.

Up until this year I enjoyed the programme significantly more, however there has been a lot of changes going on within the business unit including the structure of how apprentices are managed, making it an uncertain time with a lot of things changing which aren't always being communicated out resulting in some misunderstandings. I enjoy doing the placement rotations, however this year placements seem to have been selected in an erratic manner with some apprentices finding themselves with too much work while others have barely any.

Up until this year the programme was well structured, with all apprentices knowing the timescales of what should happen when, and was able to consult our manager if we were unsure of anything, however this year with all the changes taking place this isn't as true. A lot of elements of the process have been tweaked but apprentices aren't always informed resulting in a bit of misunderstanding.

My employer contributes a lot to my training in terms of placement and on the job training, courses tend to be a bit more on a personal justification basis but I have had no issue with getting the training that I need if it is available at the time that I need it.

Support from my training provider is unclear at best, generally information is forced out of them rather than given to us, resulting in a lot of apprentices consulting other year groups and figuring it out themselves. When we bring it up with the training provider it improves for a short while but then goes back to how it was.

My qualification links directly to my role enabling me to be able to utilise supporting theories I have learnt in practical situations to help me enhance how I work and be able to adapt to those around me in an appropriate manner. I have used many of the areas we have been taught in practical situations demonstrating its suitability to my role.

Generally the social activities are based around sports with a lot of options available with networking events and social meet-ups being based on the teams rather than the company. I have had teams where a lot of social meet ups are organised and others were there are barely any, it just depending on the type of people you are working with.

No

At the moment the scheme I am on is experiencing too much change for me to be able to recommend it. This is not to say I would not do so in the future when the programme has realigned its processes but at present I cannot recommend a scheme which isn't clear to me how it operates.

Make sure you think about the questions being asked, for apprenticeships interviewers aren't looking for you to have a wealth of experience, but they are looking to see how you respond to questions and what evidence you offer up. Be clear and genuine and elaborate on questions as much as you need to.