Business Support Review

I start the day by checking emails. When checking these emails they come with tasks. This could be creating a meeting, answering a question someone may have and doing tasks for me team. I normally do tasks which are different for an Admin. I do monthly event calendars and send them out to my whole department and many other jobs like this.

Yes, my IT skills have of course developed a lot. This is due to me working from home. I have had to book meetings on Microsoft Teams which I have never done before this job. Also I attend meeting on Adobe, Zoom, MS Teams and Skype which are all different platforms with different features so I have been learning a lot about how to use those systems. My job also offers many different training courses to help me improve on skills like IT, communication both oral and written and many other skills.

I really enjoy the work I do. I appreciate everyone in my team, it is a small team only three people including me so it is small. We all get along and they were very friendly and welcoming when I started and they ensure that I get any help I need. Everyone I have 'met' (working from home we virtually meet!) is so nice and welcoming and happy to help. I love this job and i look forward to waking up and getting to work.

The work part of the job is very organised and structured however, the study part with BPP is a bit difficult. I find it very difficult and it is a lot of information all over the place, nothing is really set. I usually try and get help from the other apprentices on the programme as we all have the same issues most of the time and can help each other through it. Work wise, the team is very supportive and my manager is always ready to take any issues I raise forward if I need her to. The tasks delegated within the team are diverse as I have to do a lot of tasks which are not meant for me due to us having a small team but i enjoy every task and my team always are there to help if needed.

My manager is always supportive of me and is ready to help me whenever I need it and encourages me to ask for help or support when needed. She also gives me weekly feedback so that I know what I am doing right and what I can improve on. I have a mentor from the business as well who is in the same role as me but in a different department and has worked at the FCA for 10+ years and helps me with an queries I have and also just talks to me when I need it.

My mentor asks me to ask questions when I am not sure but all of the apprentices on the course are told different things which gets me quite confused because I am not sure what advise I should be following. Using Adobe to attend meetings is also very difficult as it is a new system for me and it is very slow for a couple of us and I have had many tech issues.

What I am learning in my study part of my apprenticeship I already know most of it as I did BTEC Business in Sixth Form. However I do not feel like I use it in my job role. For example at the moment we are learning about a PESTLE analysis which I would never do in my daily job role. Most of the theory I have learnt has not been applied to my daily job role unfortunately but it is still interesting to learn. I know a lot about my job, role and industry from the business itself as they helped me learn more about them via information packs, my team members, self research and other connections.

There are quiz nights occasionally as we are working from home so my department sometimes do a quiz after hours. |Additionally, our team meetings are not that formal so we normally socialise at those too. I have catch up's with other members of staffs also known as coffee calls where they last 30 mins and we just talk about work and other things as well just so that i can get to know everyone else a bit better. Due to working from home it has been hard to meet everyone in real life and not virtually.

Yes

The FCA is very welcoming and the business itself do a lot for customers. I have always wanted to do a job which helps people and the FCA help customers stay protected and ensure that they are safe. Working here is good because it is a good and friendly environment where everyone is helpful. You can tell this by having calls with them and even going back to back in emails. And all of this is my opinion when I have not even been in the physical office yet or met anyone in real life!

I filled out an application form, then completed a couple of numeracy and literacy tests. After this I attended an interview day where I was given multiple tasks to do and an interview was also conducted. It was a long day but everyone was very nice and they gave some of the questions beforehand which you had to prepare for but some were surprise questions. It gives you an opportunity to show how you work under different circumstances when using the different examples in your answers. You can show off your skills.