Project manager Review

The role depends on the placement that you are in. There is a total of 4 placements over 2 years. So far I have been an assistant sponsor and an assistant project manager. The roles have been different from each other and on different projects. Typical day to day activities include going to meetings, working with stakeholders, and creating documents to progress the projects. Therefore it is hard to say exactly what you would be doing. Your manager will help you decide what tasks to do and how these will help with your portfolio.

Since I've been on the course I've learnt a lot about project management. Every month there is a college session that supports the theory. At the end of the first year you take the APM exam to show that you have knowledge on the theorist of project management. On the job you learn how things are done and how to communicate with people clearly. This is an important skill as project managers work with lots of different people.

I've been enjoying the programme so far. The classroom sessions have been good and its been good to learn more about project management. TfL as a company has been supportive and we have a line manager incase we have any queries and for support. So far I've liked everyone I've meet there and people are supportive of you ask for it. Before Covid there was site visits so you could see how the company runs and the different areas. I really enjoyed these and I hope they start again next year as it's a good chance to network and learn more.

Like all large companies TfL can be quite disorganised. As an apprentice I feel that sometimes communication isn't told to us. For example this year during Covid we didn't get much information on what was happening to our annual leave or furlough. The course it's self is quite organised however I do feel that interserve sometimes forgets about us and the planning of activities. For example our APM exam was moved earlier in the year to make it easier to resit it. This was communicated until the month before. This can make things a bit stressful.

We have a line manager and a placement manager. The line manager is with you throughout the two years and helps you with any issues and with your learning. The placement manager helps you on the job. The level of support you get whilst on a placement depends on the placement manager. I've been lucky with mine so far but I've hear some people say that there placement manager was never around or didn't explain things to them properly.

We have monthly college sessions to prepare for the APM exam. This is useful to understand the theory and to pass the exam. I don't have any companies about these. The trainer is friendly, enthusiastic and helpful. However they have lots of people and those from other companies so it can be hard to have their full attention at times. Interserve can be quite late at sending things through and can be a bit disorganised but you get used to this.

The APM qualification is industry wide and is recognised abroad too. This is great as it's transferable and will help you progress at TfL. Without it many jobs won't even interview you. Having an understanding of the theory and pros and cons of things allows you to be better prepared. You can also understand what other people are talking about and what stakeholders expect. This again makes the day to day job a lot easier.

There's a graduate and apprentice committee that before Covid organised lots of events. These we varied and ranged from training to site visits. I really miss these are they were fun and you got to meet new people. I hope they start up again next year. The site visits allowed you to see the different business areas and to understand other projects. This helped you to choose your placements and gave you an understanding of the type of work out there.

Yes

I would recommend the course and TfL as they are supportive and it will allow you to gain skills to develop and eventually get a job as a project manager. The people are nice and will give you support if you want / need it. The company is very varied and you could go into projects such as cycling, tube, I.T or buses. It really depends on what there is and hopefully Covid won't ruin all of the projects underway.

Be yourself and don't try to be too cocky. Understand the meaning of working with others and how other people's skills and experience can help you. If you get to an assessment day you might have to do a group activity and a one to one interview. Make sure you are prepared for these and you don't sit there quiet. If you do this in the group activity you won't score any points.