Chartered Manager Degree Apprentice Review

My role as a chartered manager degree apprentice is split into three main parts: Day role: Consists of supporting dealer partners to supply finance to our customers as well as various projects to support and develop this. University: I study various modules e.g. Leadership, Sales and Marketing etc Apprenticeship: I have develop various knowledge skills and behaviours in order to reach chartered manager status

I have developed various skills whilst being on the program. Particularly during the beginning when learning the core role and being involved in projects. I feel the scheme could benefit from more rotation/push from the employer to vary apprentices experience in other departments so that they can continue develop throughout the course.

Overall, I very much enjoy the scheme. There is a great culture at FRF which focus on looking after its people whether that be customers, dealers or employees. There is fantastic support from my team leader and mentor for both University and work, and I feel as though I am treated as a full-time employee despite being an 'apprentice'.

The program itself is very well structured. However, I feel that there is potentially a misalignment between the nature of the course being a 'chartered manager' course and the exposure you get to being a leader/manager is very limited on the most part in the organisation. I feel apprentices should get more opportunity to lead or at least develop a pathway for this to be an option post-apprenticeship. It must also be noted that the company is somewhat constarined in this due to the size of the organisation.

The support I receive from my employer is superb. Both my team leader and University mentor are very engaged in my program and regularly check in to see how I am getting on. However, I think the general buy in from the wider company to support you becoming a leader/manager is relatively limited/misaligned to the purpose of the course.

The support received from my training provider is everything I need. We regularly speak to discuss how I am getting on with my apprenticeship portfolio and know who to contact should I need support. My biggest issue is the inconsistency with marking University work i.e. some lecturers want a lot of detail around academic literature whereas some are less fussed. Needs to be more consistency to avoid the occasional unexpected poor grade which is really disheartening.

As discussed above, I feel there is a disconnect between the course and the day to day roles which apprentices perform. With the course being 'chartered manager' you would expect there to be opportunity to lead and manage people and there isn't. Therefore, it can be difficult to integrate the knowledge into work when this is focused on being a better manager.

FRF has a very close culture which focuses on bringing people together. Although there isn't extensive extra curricular groups etc, the communication throughout the organisation makes you feel part of something special. The companies efforts to look after its staff can't be questioned if you are happy to live a relatively steady life.

Yes

FRF look after its staff and there is no question as to whether you are valued. However, if you are looking for quick progression and exposure to being a manager whilst on the 'chartered manager' course, this may be difficult to get. There is also a lack of expectation on what apprentices do post-apprenticeship. There needs to be a more robust process focused on progression if FRF want to retain apprentices post-apprenticeship.

Really consider what it is you want to get out of the course. If you are looking for comfortability/being looked after/well paid apprenticeship in quite often an operational role with the occasional rare exposure to management, then this is a fantastic course for you. However, if you are looking for quick progression and exposure to managing people, you may find it difficult to find at FRFL due to the size of the organisation and its rigid management structure.