Developer (Markets Post Trade) Review

At Barclays, my team is involved in developing the application which traders use in conducting business in the corporate bond market. Here, my role includes setting up meetings up for my team in London and international counterparts in New York or Prague and adding new functionality to the trading application with guidance from my colleagues.

I have developed my confidence at Barclays and I am now able to take part in public speaking events, something in which before the apprenticeship I would never do. By talking to external clients on a day to day basis and being the person to direct these conversations, I learned how to overcome the challenge of speaking to new people.

I really enjoy my role at Barclays as their is a sense of community and it does not feel as if I am an apprentice but one of the employees. This creates a comfortable environment where I am encouraged to learn and on joining the programme I was not expected to be an expert which was re-assuring, adding to the enjoyable experience I have had so far.

The programme is structured in a way to help develop your skills and knowledge. University training is "protected time" which basically means that no one can interferer with this learning time which allows me to dived my work and uni work up nicely. The apprenticeship is structured around you, the apprentice and Barclays wants you to pass and be successful as much as you do when joining.

I receive lots of support including 1 to 1 meetings with my line manager on a fortnightly basis and a career coach who is devoted to helping the apprentices go through this 4 year course with a stress free, enjoyable experience. Any concerns I have are quickly resolved and I have nothing to complain about, the support is great!

The university supply masses of helpful content, resources and people to reach out to if I struggle to complete a task. The coursework has reasonable deadlines and is taught well, enabling me to complete all exams, pieces of coursework to the best of my ability. I also have a work based learning trainer who talks about our job roles and identifies areas where what we learnt at university could be applied at work.

Its great to learn the meaning behind certain things at university and then come in to work the next day, applying that knowledge at an industry level. These two work hand in hand together and really allow me to develop my understanding rapidly. A normal university student would not get the industry experience of the theory they have leant until after university.

Yes, there are many extra-curricular activities to get involved in at Barclays including football and other sports which can be found on the network. Personally I am in the football team and enjoy playing with colleagues after work. This network allows people to network and talk about different areas of the bank.

Yes

I would recommend this apprenticeship to anyone who wants to kick start their career with a world leading bank, providing great experiences, development opportunities and the chance to have a degree sponsored by the company which you work for. This apprenticeship will give you one step ahead of other graduates when competing for jobs later down the line as you will be highly sort after.

When applying for Barclays, really try to present yourself as a team person, someone who wants to develop their skills and learn through this experience. Depending on what area of Barclays you are applying for, try to show your enthusiasm and eagerness to join. By doing this, Barclays will see you as a good investment, someone who will work hard to pass the qualifications and give 100% to the job role.