Project Management Apprentice Review

My role is a project management apprentice and is primary a project controller role. On a day to day basis this involves monitoring project risks and looking at the mitigation plans for the risks and their overall impact on the project. Looking at and ensuring the project is on schedule and if there are any slips in the schedule then how these can be brought back on track. Milestone adherence follows on from this, tracking the completion of tasks and how this impacts on the end date. Additionally, there is a large amount of governance that needs to be completed, with this prepping, running and the sending out of meeting minutes/agendas. There are many adhoc activities that are also completed, such as communications to the business, work for external bodies and running communities of practices.

I have learnt a large amount of skills in this course, covering a range of topics such as stakeholder management and learning about the business environment. I had no previous skills of project management of a formal nature, but I had previous exposure of the type of skill sets that are needed- such as communication skills and the ability to be organised. Between attending university and learning the knowledge behind project management and the exposure that a rotational placement scheme has, it is easy to expand my skill set in the areas needed to be a well rounded project manager

As an overall experience I really do enjoy the programme and couldn't picture just doing a university course. The ability to work on the job and learn from practising project managers is really beneficial and there are multiple opportunities available internally and externally to the business. The fact that we are able to move around business areas is great as it allows for us to see which areas we like and enjoy working in or succeed in. The length of the university days are long and 8 hours of lectures can drag on a little long, but this can be expected due to needing to fulfil all the lecture content in a reduced time frame.

In the beginning the scheme was well organised and we received all the information we needed to make a smooth transition into the business. However, since joining the scheme there have been a couple of changes that we were not expecting, but this came with the majority from the university side of the scheme rather than the business provider. The university altered how we were to be assessed on our final grading a year into the scheme, which created a lot more work for us. The university had had no experience on using the new management system and there have been a few problems. Also, there is still a degree of uncertainty as to how our scheme will end which could reduce the number of placements that we initially thought we would do.

As apprentices we have a set support network from the core apprenticeship scheme, which we have scheduled reviews every 8 weeks to check in but we can see them as regularly as we wish to. There is also additional support from our line managers, who we are assigned to at each rotation, and it is advised that we have 1 to 1 with our managers as a check in. These are to discuss our development or anything else we see fit. We have to seek out or own career coaches if we want them which I have done, but it would have been good to be assigned to someone in the beginning, so we could have had career chats in the beginning. Also, we were assigned apprentice buddies with the year above us but this relationship wasn't brilliant due to lack of communication.

The university are very good at providing support with the academic work. They attend the 8 week reviews as a check in for our academic progress. Throughout term time, the lectures are pretty good at responding to queries sent by email quickly and we are able to provide drafts of our work for them to comment on which is incredibly beneficial. The support from the university has continued in the pandemic as we have bi-weekly chats with them as a cohort to raise any questions and discuss how to progress through the work they have set.

Through the university we have already obtained the APM PMQ, a recognised project management qualification, which has proved to be a useful qualification to secure a good understanding and foundation of project management. The teaching of the lecture content cements this knowledge and ensures we have a good theoretical understanding of how to work in the project management environment. Having this knowledge helps to perform better in the role as we understand the workings behind the practise. However, learning on the job is definitely the most effective and beneficial way to learn.

There are a wide range of extra-curricular activities that we are able to and invited to join. There is even a specific 'club' for apprentices and graduates which run a number of different events and nights out to build the community of the early careers. There are also many sports teams, hobby clubs and networking groups that are available all of which are advertised in work and online. There is also a central 'social club' building that is open all the time running events in and out of work time. There are great facilities such as a gym and summer kids club run on site to make life easier for employees too. There are a number of external events such as STEM meetings and professional body meetings that are held at work that we are able to get involved in.

Yes

Rolls-Royce has been a really good employer, especially for the apprenticeship. They have run schemes like mine for many years, so they know what they are doing and how to run a successful scheme, but they are still making improvements to ensure that best for the business and the apprentices. There are many opportunities here that create additional exposure externally to the business and my managers have been nothing but supportive. I have had and am having a very positive experience at Rolls-Royce and wish the scheme would continue for the next generation of project managers.

I think doing your research is so valuable in this situation as learning about the history of the company and some of the challenges that it has previously faced. Talking through how the company overcame obstacles is something I spoke about in my interview and I believe this helped as it demonstrated that you are not afraid to bring up careful topics of conversations. It is important to have some extra-curricular on your CV as well to demonstrate that you have interests outside of the workplace and this can also tie in with a different way of showcasing skills. As clique as it sounds, to be yourself really is the best advice. On your application and your interview just be yourself. To have a personality that shines through even in a document of why you want the job demonstrates who you are as a person and that is one of the most important things.