Head Office Apprentice Review

My day-to-day role involves completing admin tasks, e.g emails, meetings and organising data. As a BA apprentice I'm given real responsibilities and real jobs to complete everyday which are important to the whole organisation. Most recently i was given a project to plan, facilitate, run and review, meaning that i had whole creative control and it was my project from start to finish. Daily i interact with lots of different people such as members of the Leadership Teams and people from different departments, it's great for networking.

I have learn't many different skills whilst working as an apprentice at British Airways. It has challenged me, pushed me out of my comfort zone and most importantly it has made me realise how much I am capable of. Not only has it exposed me to many different areas of the business it has given me confidence in my work. By working at British Airways i have developed my interpersonal skills, my presenting skills and in particular I have learnt to prioritise my tasks and time manage effectively, due to the fast paced environment within BA. I am studying towards a Level 4 Business Administration NVQ, so i am always continuing my learning whilst working in an admin role at BA. We also have access to many online learning opportunities such as safeguarding, IT safety etc.

I am really enjoying my programme. My apprenticeship consists of 4 different 6 month placements, this means that i am exposed to many different areas of the business, thus have the opportunity to widen my skill set and learn from the variety of people around me. Each team that i have worked in have been extremely welcoming and helpful, which was especially important as i was a school leaver when i joined BA. There is a great organisation culture and it exceeded my expectations of when i joined.

The programme is very well organised. When we joined we had a few days induction, to get to know the business, the other apprentices and our managers. Throughout the apprenticeship I have always received support from the apprentice managers, even when working from home due to Covid-19 we had weekly welfare calls to check in and make sure everyone is ok. When I joined, the previous cohort of apprentices were assigned to us as buddies, who were essentially our mentors and if we had any problems we could go to them for help. The programme i am on is well organised as you have 4 different placements, each lasting 6 months. This mans that after your 2 years you will have been exposed to many different areas of the business and therefore have lots of experience working in a large organisation.

We receive lots of support from our employer. Our placement managers and the apprentice team are always around for a chat if we have any issues or problems. We have fortnightly welfare calls as an apprenticeship cohort to ensure everyone is okay and keeping well. In our placements we also have one or more team catch ups a week, to touch base and discuss work and other things. Safeguarding support has been provided by our safeguarding officer and we can book in any time with him to discuss and safeguarding issues we may have. At BA there is also an App called Unmind which is a wellness app, which has activities such as meditation, self guided programme to manage your work-life balance, mood tracker etc.

Our training providers join us on our fortnightly apprenticeship cohort welfare call so also are checking in on us. When working towards our qualification we will have Workshops once or twice a month to be given the information for our assignments and at these workshops we will be given the assignment brief which matches what we learnt that day. We can then book extra time with our provider to further discuss it or once we submit our assignment, when it has been marked we will have a call to discuss corrections and the grade given. In addition to assignments, roughly once a month i will meet with my learning provider to get professional discussion to discuss my work and evidence i had gathered to support my NVQ.

My qualification supports my role as the assignments are based on everyday things in a corporate world, such as business admin systems, or personal effectiveness. By completing research and assignments on these tasks it helps me to perform better as i have a greater understanding of how to be successful in the topics. I also think it supports my performance as it gives me a wider knowledge on how things can be improved thus i am always looking to continuously improve and ways of working which would make things more successful, or easier or more streamlined.

Yes as an apprentice you become Flying Start champions/ambassadors. Flying Start is BAs charity and as ambassadors you can take part in many activites or fundraisers. For example last year, for Comic Relief i had the chance to do a promo dance video with John Barrowman to highlight how much money BA had raised for Flying Start/Comic Relief. In addition to this, each year the apprentice team put on an apprenticeship forum, which is a chance for all apprentices to come together to network and learn more about the different programmes.

Yes

I have had a great experience so far, i have been exposed to many different areas of the business. I have been given real responsibilities and roles within the organisation that matter to the business, and i have had the chance to network and meet great people along the way who i can learn from. Not only is it great to work for BA due to the reasons i just discussed, there is also a great corporate culture, which makes coming to work fun and enjoyable.

When applying, research the organisation and know some key facts and figures for your interviews, this will set you apart from those who haven't done any research. It's going to challenge you working for British Airways, especially if you are a school leaver, like i was, but if it doesn't challenge you then you wont learn and won''t be able to become the best version of yourself. Always be confident in yourself and your work, and don't be afraid to make a few mistakes along your way.