Service Designer Review

An amazing benefit of the company is that during your apprenticeship, you have the chance to move around to different roles. This allows you to gain experience and insight into a wide variety of business units, thus expanding overall knowledge of IBM and its operations. I currently sit in a service designer role which means I innovate client's services, allowing me to speak to user's across the world, utilising our IBM Garage framework.

For sure! Every day, I feel like I have learnt so many new things and expanded my knowledge twofold. The company places great trust in apprentices and allows them to inhabit a lot of responsibility, meaning you are able to constantly to learn new things. You are also encouraged to complete a certain amount of learning each year on an internal training platform, this ensures that all employees are proactive and are able to always learn new skills, which they can then utilise in their everyday roles.

I enjoy my programme very much, I personally feel it is set up perfectly. As a young person who is being first introduced to the busy professional world, working four days a week and studying for one feels like the perfect blend. The way that the education side is set up means that you are able to implement everything you have learnt into your everyday role. This ensures your understanding of certain topics exist and further it even more.

Brilliantly, you are provided with so much support which is absolutely necessary. Within the company, you are given two managers. One who focuses on making sure you are able to find a role/new ones and that you are happy in them, it allows you to raise any ideas/concerns you have really easily. You are also assigned a manager who focuses on your wellbeing and that you are able to manage everything effectively. Through the university, you also are assigned educational tutors who do the same, but for your university work.

As I mentioned previously, by being assigned two managers, there is a large focus to ensure you are okay and are always on track. Working for such a large company has so many benefits and a great example is that HR support is always available. You are able to utilise so many benefits which exist in such an organisation. There is also a large network of mentors available, and they are so easy to find. The culture is amazing and most people you find will always want to help out and become a mentor.

You receive a lot of support from when you begin your apprenticeship. You are assigned a personal tutor who focuses on how you are doing and ensures you are meeting the targets you set yourself. Said tutor also liaises with the company you work for and sorts out any problems immediately. Support is always available and the student services team are always on hand to help and provide support in any way that is needed. I thoroughly enjoy the experience and feel extremely supported.

Definitely, everything that is taught at university then supplies my knowledge in my everyday role. I am able to put the theory into practice which then also furthers my understanding of topics. I feel like I know a lot more about my role as I gain responsibility and feel like I have a head start because I already have some knowledge surrounding that area. I am also able to supply my education with what I learn in my everyday role.

Yes, within IBM, there is an extremely strong Foundation Community which means there are always so many ways to get involved. An example is the ability to join committee-like groups surrounding different business roles such as project management or innovation for people who want to learn more but aren't necessarily exposed to these topics in their everyday roles. There are leads for each base location within the UK who focus on social events to ensure a great community is created.

Yes

There are so many benefits when joining a company like IBM. They are a huge company which means they have a lot of experience in dealing with apprentices. They have a lot of experience in supporting apprentices from a school-leaver to a full-time worker and will ensure you develop as much as possible during that time. There is the opportunity for early career progression from day one. You are provided with so much support to ensure your wellbeing is okay at all times. You are able to meet so many people like you, the company is extremely sociable.

Be yourself! Don't act like someone you're not when initially applying or in the recruitment process, the assessors will likely find out at a later date and this may hinder your chances of being hired. The company also places a lot of focus on ensuring that you are placed in a role that really suits you, what you want to learn and your existing skills. By acting like someone you're not, you could also then be placed in a role that doesn't actually suit your skills and may be something you don't actually enjoy.