Level 6 Project Management Apprentice Review

My role is to work alongside a qualified project manager and assist with the management of the project. Over the course of my apprenticeship I will get more responsibility and eventually be the sole manager of multiple projects. I also spend a lot of working time on extra Vodafone Youth side-projects which opens a lot of doors to get to know more people my age (mainly graduates and apprentice) and people in upper management.

I have learnt lots of new skills and developed on most of my existing skills. The only skills that haven't developed since starting this apprenticeship are irrelevant ones to this job role such as abstract maths and physics. The skills I have gained and developed have been much more relevant and transferrable to my future.

I absolutely love my job and will be sad to see my contract end in 2024, hopefully I will be able to carry on project management. Vodafone is an amazing company to work for and is exceptional at looking after and developing their apprentices and grads. I cannot think of a better place I could've started my career.

My programme is very well organised from the employer side with a solid induction and regular check ins from HR to make sure we are happy and working well. The training provider is very unorganised, the uni course is set out to 1 09:00-16:00 day of lectures per week. This is due to the course being provided by the training provider originally being a part-time uni course and not being restructured appropriately for an apprenticeship.

I receive all the right support from my employer. If I have a problem with my work my line manager is very open and will quickly help me learn from any problems I face. Any other problems I know are supported if I end up needing support from either HR or the wellbeing teams.

Support isn't the best from the training provider. Giving us the incorrect schedule for an apprenticeship has lead to some extremely packed weeks and when this problem has been brought up they have been very slow about fixing it. Student support is there for us to reach out to but make little effort with us.

My training provider doesn't really help at all with my role. I would perform better in my role with the extra day a week rather than spending it in lectures learning about old ways of working that are not even used in the project management industry anymore. The most relevant information I have learnt from my learning provider is a few bits of terminology, the rest has come from corporate courses I have been doing in my free time and working time.

There is plenty of extra-curricular activities to choose from with my employer. When COVID is over I intend to sign up for the corporate games. There is something for just about anyone though.

Yes

When comparing my experience at Vodafone and compare it to what I've heard from employees at other companies it makes me extremely grateful for my job. I think the majority of people in the world would be very happy working for Vodafone.

During all of my application processes I tried to be 100% honest and myself. This is because if I get turned down for a job and I'm being myself then it probably wasn't the right job for me. I believe this is something Vodafone look for in their application processes. I'd say just be yourself and don't be afraid to showcase your skills.