Delivery and Support Apprentice Review

I work on network-related projects to ensure enterprises and organisations can have their ethernet solutions delivered. I work on a series of projects and have had gained experience in managing high-end projects. This has enabled me to reach out to people in other departments within the business, who I hold regular meetings with.

I have gained experience in project management and managing people as well as workload. As part of these projects, I have also been able to gain experience in developing and delivering presentations to multiple stakeholders. Through the supporting university degree course, I have gained experience in developing network environments and monitoring equipment.

The ability to rotate to different teams every six months provides an amazing opportunity to gain coverage within the business. I enjoy my work a lot and everyone I have met has been very helpful. This gives me a chance to see which aspect of work I enjoy the most and where I would most like to assimilate.

We have an apprentice manager on site who helps us with the day to day aspect of our role and will answer any queries we have. We also have apprentice coaches who deal with the qualification aspect and ensure all aspects of our apprenticeship are delivered. My only concern is that often these managers do not communicate together efficiently.

I receive a lot of support from my manager and I know I can go to them if I have any questions or concerns about aspects of my apprenticeship. There is also good coverage of higher management at BT, with regular roundtable meetings and calls where attendees can put forward questions.

We get adequate time out of the job to go to university and complete studies. Our managers are very supportive of this aspect of our apprenticeship, as they value our learning and personal development. We also have the chance to gain further qualifications once our apprenticeships are over to further develop our careers.

The university degree and other apprenticeship aspects ensure we get a good coverage of the industry as a whole. Sometimes the communication from the university is insufficient and this has led to a few problems in the working environment. Often lectures are postponed with minimal warning and this has hindered our workplace training.

Normally there are activities including sports and social events with team members. Due to COVID-19, many of these events have not happening as they normally would in the last year. However, my team has been able to stay in touch with one another through chat applications outside of work, which has helped.

Yes

The opportunity at BT is fantastic. You get to rotate around the business, with rotations taking place every six months to provide a fresh insight into multiple departments. Better still, you start on a proper wage rather than an apprenticeship wage. There are opportunities to develop and BT rewards those who go the extra mile.

Do not be afraid to push yourself out of your comfort zone throughout the apprenticeship. Try everything, talk to everyone and ask all questions you have. BT values your training experience and wants you to effectively contribute. The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.