Degree Apprentice on Rotation Review

My role is on a rotation so every year I will be rotating roles. For the first year I am in a sales role. On a day to day basis, I price up contracts for the client that I am assigned to, review contracts to be sent out to the client, attend daily team meetings about current requests as well as completing a report on all requests on a weekly basis. I also attend university once a week as I am a degree apprentice, so my fees are payed by IBM and I fit my university work in around my work.

I have learnt many new skills by working at IBM, my communication skills have been heightened due to the team calls as many team members work overseas in India or Europe so I needed to improve my ways of communication over an online call to be able to make the most of these calls. I have also gained technical skills by using applications such as excel and word in more detail than ever before.

I really enjoy my programme a lot! It's the best of both worlds, getting out into the job world and being able to gain that valuable experience that employers look for. As well as being lucky enough to attend university once a week and working towards my chartered management business degree which will help me so much in my future. I really would recommend a degree apprenticeship to anyone looking to propel their career and gain those important qualifications too.

I think that the programme is very well organised. When I first joined we had a few days of induction at one of the offices, it involved getting to know the people on my programme, being set up with the laptop and introduced to our managers for the total programme. There is also a foundation community for all new joiners and apprentices which is nice to make you feel included. As well as this I have a mentor and a sponsor within the company so I have many people that I can go to.

The support at IBM is faultless. I have so many people that I can go to when I need support, I have my early professions manager, my line manager, my team colleagues, my mentor and my sponsor as well as my friends from the degree apprentice programme. There is so much available which is amazing and is there to be taken advantage of.

A lot, I attend university once a week and the tutors are always very supportive and are always available to having a meeting or phone call if its needed. I also have a university mentor who I meet with every quarter who talks about my progress and any improvements that are needed as well as any concerns or issues I might have.

I think that my training at university has helped my role to some extent as I am constantly gaining a better understanding of the business world as a whole. It helps to give me context to situations and I also feel that working towards my qualification makes sure that I am good at time management which is vital in everything in my role and university.

There are several events and activities that you can take part in. Often teams will have social events such as going out for drinks or to a fun activity which is a really nice way of bonding with your team members. Also as a part of the mentoring scheme they host social events, due to COVID we haven't been able to meet but have done online quizzes.

Yes

This programme is the best opportunity that can be offered it is amazing. You are gaining valuable experience by working 4 days a week for a big employer such as IBM and building up your social network within the company. And if that wasn't enough, you are attending university once a week with the fees being payed for and all the support is there.

I would advice people to work on their applications in terms of skills that they have and examples of those, I think employers really like to see that especially once you get to interviews and assessments. I would also say to apply to many different roles as you never know what the role is like until you give it a go. Also when you get a final interview always attend even if you're not sure on the job role as you gain more information at the interview that will help you to decide whether the role is for you or not.