Technical Analyst Review

My current role is a technical analyst, on a day to day basis I work on various things which can be from analysis tasks to small development tasks. During analysis tasks I speak to our key stakeholders to gather requirements for the change we are implementing and for developement tasks our senior developer choses small code changes I could make. I have daily meetings with the project team where we discuss our progress on various tasks and also use this time to disucss any blockers we may be facing to complete the tasks.

I have gained loads of new skills since starting the apprenticeship aswell as developed on existing skills, both in work and while attending university. I have been able to work on my communication and presentation skills within the workplace and university as I have had to give numerous presentations as well as host meetings with various stakeholders. I have gained skills in various programming languages. I have also gained analysis skills including requirements gathering, use case diagrams, Jira ticket management and many more. During the apprenticeship I have had to opportunity to attend external training courses on programming and cyber security.

I enjoy my programme as I enjoy my current role and team. I have loads of support from my team around me and this really helps with day to day tasks. I find the culture a Barclays one of the best of all the places i have worked in. There are flexible working agreements and also can work from home.

I joined the programme however didnt find out until my induction day what my actual role would be, this was a bit awkward as I had no idea what to expect. My first role was something entirely different that what I would have expected a 'technology' apprenticeship to be and took me a long time to be able to move into a more techincal role. Since moving role i have gained more relevant skills that algin with the apprenticeship better. I have had the opportunity to do various training however none of these have really been prolonged or focusing on one particular subject so this can be frustrating as I feel I haven't had the chance to learn one area fully. Studying and working can be difficult to juggle, especially when you are not permitted to do uni work during work hours, however my LM has supported me during exam periods etc with allowing me to study. I have frequent catch ups with my LM where we discuss all my work/uni progress and also have the opportunity to discuss if i am struggling with anything work/uni or even in my personal life if i want to. I feel the programme could be better structured with clear training plans for the apprentices joining as currently it various depending on team and some have no training plans in place at all.

I get loads of support from my LM, we have frequent catch ups to discuss progress/ issues i am facing. I also get support from various early careers groups which are headed by senior colleagues in the workplace. We also have a career coach who we have meetings with every quarter, although they are based in a different location and have a large amount of apprentices, therefore can be hard to arrange additional time if needed.

I find the current training provider is not very good, the company has since changed this provider and now all new joining apprentices attend a different university. The teaching of the course comes across as not being very well thought out and often scheduling of classes/ lecturers are last minute. Some of the lecturers have openly voiced on their opposition to a 'flipped' learning classroom and prefer more traditional methods of teaching, which simply cannot be achieved on a one day per week timetable. This is probably one of the main reasons the provider has been changed which in turn has changed the dynamic of the apprenticeship. New joiners attend university in 6 to 8 weekly blocks where as apprentices who joined in 2017 and 2018 attend the initial university one day per week.

I feel like the qualifications i have achieved so far have not really helped me perfom better in the workplace. It has been realised a lot of the material we learn at university is outdated in comparison to methods used in the workplace. I have only put small pieces of what i have learned at univeristy in practise in work. I feel i have done the majority of learning in the workplace rather than at university.

(outwith COVID) There are many different activites going on at once within work. We have monthly Technology colleague networking events where colleagues have the opportunity to network with people in different teams across technology in Glasgow. There are also various citizenship opportunities to be involved in, some of which are done within the office and others done outside of the office (such as gardening, painting, cleaning).

Yes

I feel the experience gained while working in the office during the time of obtaining qualifications is much more valuable than doing a full time course then having no real world experience in the end. You gain new skills, opportunities and also earn a salary all while working towards your degree qualification. This means when time comes to gradute you already have 4 years experience under your belt.

The assessment day can be quite intense and is usually a full day of activities, interviews and also presentations, so be prepared for this. Onboarding is notoriously slow, however seems to be a bit more smoother for onboarding early careers colleagues but will still take a number of weeks from accepting the role to your first day in the office. There are many of us currently on the scheme and we are always happy to help new joiners understand what their role is and to give support throughout the apprenticeship. It is more than likely not what you expect you are going to be doing but it is still very rewarding.