Commercial Degree Apprentice Review

My role involves engaging in a commercial negotiations and drafting contractual agreements with airlines, airframers, suppliers and risk and revenue sharing partners. I do presentations, financial settlements and claims, whilst supporting on forecasting and engineering issues. My role involves discussing risks and mitigating risks whilst limiting our commercial exposure long-term.

I have developed many new knowledge, skills and behaviours whilst on my apprenticeship including the following listed below: -Commercial acumen -negotiation -drafting -legal terminology -developed confidence when presenting -developed my communicative and interpersonal skills -developed my ability to assess, mitigate and plan risks over short and medium and long term plans

I thoroughly enjoy my programme. I am so privileged to be able to actively gain professional experience and directly be setting myself up for a well paid job whilst also studying for my degree which topics directly support my career within business and training to be a manager. At times however I do find that the course and degree and CMI accreditation are a big commitment and require a large amount of time. Sometimes it can become over whelming and there is a lot of pressure. However, this will be worth it at the end.

My programme has been fairly well organised. As the course is a fairly new course it has been quite up and down with regards to organisation and could be considered as a point of improvement for the future courses. At times I have felt the programme from a uni perspective is somewhat trialling us at times to set the course up correctly still but still find the overall course well structured in line with work.

My employer is very supportive. I have a work based mentor to support my development and work based university project, and a career mentor to support my overall development. We have a steering group within our placements that support us directly within the business and an apprentice development leader who supports from a HR point and our overall development and performs reviews. We also have a curriculum of learning of additional courses to partake in to support our wider development.

I have a university mentor who actively meets with me once a month and happily supports me when I send any emails with questions to gain additional support. We have 10 weekly reviews with our apprentice development leader and out training provider. Our uni provide documents and resources to further support us in line with our course assignments and wider learning.

My uni course directly supports my role in developing my ability to be a manager and a professional within a business which is directly important to my career in rolls Royce. It provides me with the right knowledge skills and behaviours and all assignments are directly linked and based on theory linking it to my role.

At work there are sooo many networking groups and events such as the gender diversity group and various religious groups. Post covid I aim to join the rolls Royce netball team to engage in some social times. Before covid I have been on social nights, a trip to Dublin, to a turbines family open day and to various escape rooms.

Yes

The company is very large and supportive of development and becoming a generally all rounded better person. There is a growing concern for mental health and achieving a work life balance. The people are very open to you driving your career to what you want and the benefits of the company are outstanding.

Be open with what you want to go into the company and develop, don’t shy away from the knowledge skills and behaviours that you don’t already have as the company are so supportive of training and developing people within the roles. If you are applying get yourself familiar with the website so you have a wider portfolio view of the company and just be confident and smile, the people are super friendly!