Economics Apprentice Review

I am on a supervision team for the UK Global Banks in the PRA, working 4 days a week at the Bank and one day a week university study day at the University of Kent. I am involved in high level meetings, receiving and analysing data from the firm, and presenting it to my team.

I have only been at the Bank for 6 months, but looking back, I can see how many new skills I have learnt and how valuable they are. I feel much more confident using Excel, articulating data and communicating in a professional manner. I feel extremely lucky to be able to learn these skills that I wouldn't have gained at university alone.

I have really enjoyed getting involved in high level work, and gaining the necessary knowledge from my degree too. The workload is quite heavy which does lead me into periods of high stress, but this is usually only around assessments and work deadlines. I am extremely excited to go into the office in 2021 when Covid regulations allow.

I am part of the first degree apprentice cohort at The BAnk of England so there will of course be some organisational issues, but on the whole it has been well structures. The Bank apprenticeship team have been incredible at helping the transition, but the university hasn't been as great at organization or structuring of the course.

The Bank of England has great support networks through other employees and specialist wellbeing teams. We were each given a "buddy" as part of a mentoring scheme which has been incredibly useful, and my manager is very understanding if I am struggling with something. It does seem scary to ask questions but usually everyone is very helpful.

I have two meetings each term with my apprenticeship advisor who is very lovely and shows she really genuinely cares about our wellbeing. She is always happy to support us and guide us in the right direction. However, the university themselves have been less supportive in getting information out soon enough, scheduling of assessments, and special considerations when meeting deadlines, which has been especially important during Covid.

My degree course is specialised for apprentices which means the content is relevant to the work we are completing in our day to day roles. One example is the first module we completed was using and analysing economic data, which was extremely useful for my role at the Bank. Hopefully by the end of th course I will be fully equipt to perform my role the best I can.

I have heard about some social activities that are available to us, but it has been impacted by the pandemic. There have been online social events and even in our weekly team meeting we do some fun activities. But so far I have not been involved in many volunteering or sport activities.

Yes

The Bank of England are an incredible employer with a great benefits scheme, a healthy working environment which is supportive and inclusive. They strive for diversity and help you achieve strong career progression. They have a very high retention rate of employees and many opportunities for sponsored further education opportunities.

My biggest tip is to make sure you are applying to the division you are most interested in working in, but be open minded to change teams and working on cross divisional projects. If you're interested in applying for a degree apprenticeship, take the opportunity! It is such a great and valuable experience you will not regret it.