Pensions Administrator Review

My role mainly focuses on completely casework. This is typically providing transfer quotations to members of the pension scheme who may want to transfer their benefits to another pension scheme. I also often work on a lot of general queries that members may have about anything. I do have some responsibilities where i have to complete some projects for our team twice a month.

I have definitely learnt how to speak to clients and members in more of a formal manner. I think my communication skills have developed as I have gone from interacting with my team, to clients and then also to members of the scheme. I would also say through studying for our CPC exam I have had to learn to juggle my workload efficiently.

I get on well with my team and believe I have settled in well. I do enjoy this job as it has taken me down a completely new path. Before coming into Pensions I did not really have any idea how they worked. Now I feel I have gained a lot more knowledge. The company are very understanding and do put in alot of time for the apprentices, through providing training courses etc.

I do believe the programme is structured well. The only challenge I would say I have faced is that often when being involved in your team they do rely on you and you can sometimes be given a lot of work. When you also have training for your apprentice side of things or study sessions, it can become a bit harder to juggle it. However, my team have been very supportive in providing me with less work load on days where my studying for the apprenticeship takes priority.

The training team are extremely supportive, they make sure they put all their time into our catchups and provide us with the help we need. My manager is also very supportive and understands that sometimes I may need an hour of my day to focus on study work for my apprenticeship course.

It is difficult as myself in my team I am a big part and I am relied on by them. However, they all understand that we are here to get a qualification and study alongside working. Therefore my manager is very leniant when it comes to giving me time to study. Again managing your workload and studying alongside is not easy, but if you prepare and speak to your team they will help you and guide you.

I would say in some areas it definitely does help in our day to day role. However, I for example have not been able to do some of the more complex cases at work yet. So in some respects they are not necessarily relevant day to day as of yet. However, I am sure they will become more relevant. Main areas that I use day to day would be written communications.

There are some things to get involved in. Events do take place but with covid I think it has been more difficult for them to provide these as of yet. I know that my Offices did do a 'bake off' which was for charity. When I am not working I often go to the gym or meet up with friends, I would say that I do like to keep some things seperately and would rather do my own extra curricular activities.

Yes

I would recommend the company because they do not treat the apprentices differently to anyone else. I think that the training they provide is very good and beneficial for us in our job roles. The staff are all very friendly, team work is a main part of the role and also communicating with others. My team definitely helped me to progress in these areas.

Be yourself, make sure you have examples of things you are talking about. Such as if you are explaining that you have good communication skills, explain a time where you have shown this in a job role etc. Be prepared to take a few assessments before you have a face to face interview. I wish I had been a little more prepared for the english and maths assessments that I had to complete.