Systems Management Engineer Review

My role involves engineering a third party appliance that has multiple uses across the Bank. A typical day involves communicating with my team, stakeholders and training provider. My role also involves learning and using highly technical knowledge in computing fundamentals and scripting languages to solve complex problems. No day is the same and new projects/ tasks are constantly being introduced.

Having not studied Computing/ IT at school/ college I had a lot of learning to pick up in order for me to start contributing to my team. Learning these new skills came from multiple different sources including, teaching from teammates, University, Pluralsight and other external training providers eg. QA etc.

I really enjoy my programme - mainly because of the team I was placed in, they have been really supportive and have made sure I have the knowledge I have to start contributing to the team. I have been given responsibility over several projects that has helped to build my confidence.

Although I enjoy my Apprenticeship, I think the way it is organised requires improvement. To start with, apprentices have no idea what role they will be placed in when they start. You apply for a 'Technology Apprentice' role and then you are placed in a team that could be anywhere in the Technology. While this could be seen as a sensible way to recruit I think sometimes teams ask for an Apprentice as a way of filling a recruitment gap, getting them to complete mundane tasks and neglect the learning/ development aspect of the programme. I feel I have been lucky in my team placement but I know other apprentices who feel they have been hired as 'cheap labour'.

In my team I receive loads of support, I have regular training sessions and 1-2-1 meetings with my line manager. I have a career coach within Barclays who discusses my performance and Objectives with me. They also monitor my degree progression and help me build up soft skills eg. Communication and Presenting.

My University provides me with support via a dedicated skills coach who has regular meetings with me and my line manager. We discuss my current workload and objectives, University progress and 'Off the Job Training'. Support is also given by academic tutors and module leaders. We also have professional development days to enhance our soft skills and core behaviors.

The first year of university didn't really help me with my role, only one of the modules was technical and even that didn't really tie in well with my role. At the end of first year you have to pick a pathway to follow which you can tie in more with your day to day job.

There are societies you can join for various things like sports and recreation. There is a focus on charity and community work and apprentices have to take part in citizenship activities as part of the apprenticeship eg. Visiting your old school/ college to educate them on Barclays and Degree apprenticeships.

Yes

I would recommend Barclays Apprenticeships to a friend, however I think your experience will be shaped by the team you get placed into, and, considering you have no say in where you end up, and there is no option to change teams; it can make or break your Apprenticeship. Also, there is a 'cohort mentality' in the apprenticeship where you career progression can sometimes feel hindered by the internal apprenticeship team. You are hired as a cohort, you are judged as a cohort and you progress as a cohort. Little attention is given to those individuals who go out of their way and out extra effort. To summarize, I think if you end up in the right team, who want to invest time in you, you will find the Apprenticeship well worth it. You just have to be willing to take the risk.

I would say be yourself and be prepared to speak to lots of different people. I think being able to communicate effectively, at your interview and in your role, plays a massive part in your development. Also, don't come across as arrogant at your interview, you are part of a big group and fighting for airtime comes across as childish and is uncomfortable to watch.