IT Apprentice Review

My current role involves facilitating the communications between AZ IT and 3rd party construction trades to ensure a successful opening of our new headquarters with regards to our corporate networks and the required devices on those networks. I am also a business analyst for our Companion app which we are developing in house which helps employees navigate around the sites and book COVID-19 tests, vaccinations, car parking spaces etc.

I have developed plenty of communication and interpersonal skills which have enabled me to overcome difficult situations easier and adapt to my surroundings. I have also picked up business analysis skills which is extremely useful in any position. I have also spent 8 months with our UX team which has helped me gain a really good understanding of design best practices and user centered design.

I do enjoy my programme as we get exposed to a variety of different positions and we get to choose these roles which gives us a lot of freedom to venture in the direction which we would like to go in. University at the moment is also quite fulfilling with great content.

The programme is fairly well structured, however, I feel like the link between university and the workplace should definitely be looked at. As I don't feel like the activities we complete at university feed into our work or vice versa which sometimes makes the course quite confusing and makes the university standards seem like tick box exercises, this isn't being regarded as an issue by my workplace as there is always a new explanation as to why this is the case. There is also not enough support when it comes to finding new roles as our company has over 70,000 employees worldwide so it is difficult to network especially whilst working from home. As apprentices in Cambridge, as opposed to our Macclesfield site, we are disadvataged with the lack of rotation options in comparison.

The level of support is adeqaute at best, as I feel like the employer isn't truly aware of the struggles of an apprentice and what kind of support we actually require. The "support" does exist, but it feels like when I have query, I just get an explanation what why the issue exists as opposed to being offered a solution. Other support related issues I have already mentioned in question no.4.

There is a fair amount of support in theory as we have an apprentice buddy from the year above (mine has been extremely helpful and we have a really healthy professional relationship) and also a workplace mentor. This would in theory be a good idea, however, the mentors don't seem to receive any training and therefore it can become quite difficult and awkward when you are actually looking for support and just the overall expectations from the mentor which has been set out by our course provider don't actually match what the mentors expected so it always feels like you are asking too much as an apprentice.

As I've previously mentioned, there is very little link between the course and the workplace role at any given time, partially due to the "rotation" structure (we rotate into a different role every 8 months) so even though the technical knowledge I learn at university is great, I struggle to apply it at the workplace.

There have been numerous apprentice related events that I have been involved with last year, including multiple career's fairs and becoming an apprentice buddy last September but due to the pandemic, there is very limited opportunities for that. However, during the year there are always apprentice themed events, talks, external speakers etc which keeps us engaged and there is bound to be an activity out there which interests every apprentice which is great.

Yes

Even though the scheme isn't perfect, I don't think opportunities like this should be missed because it can potentially allow you to find your dream job and set you up for life. The experiences that we have been exposed to are priceless and financial implications of a free degree cannot be complained about either.

I would say that a scheme like this is only for someone who is independent, confident and able to ask questions when things don't go their way as it is the only way you will actually learn. You need to be inquisitive to be able to network and find positions which you think will suit you. These schemes definitely require more commitment than it initially seems especially if you want to excel and want to find yourself in a position to land a permanent role at the end. Overall, this doesn't suit people who aren't willing to go above and beyond.