Associate Project Manager Apprentice Review

I assist the release train manager with implementing consistency across the entire time in terms of how we operate our leankit boards and how we manage RAID items within our projects. Currently I am also providing my support to the introduction of PI Planning events in to the team which is something that, if successful, will bring huge benefits to our team. It will enable us to plan out the goals we want to achieve over the next 3 months and the work required to achieve those goals. Furthermore, on a day to day basis I attend regular morning scrum meetings to receive updates on what is happening within the project I am working on and then sometimes support the actions taken based on that.

The skills I have learnt and built upon are my research, problem solving, organisation and decision making skills. In particular, I feel the support I have provided to the release train manager around the RAID management operating rhythm has really enabled me to build upon and enhance my communication skills. I was able to clearly discuss with various members of my team the current RAID management process and then report my finding back to the release train manager. From this we were then able to discuss the approach to RAID management that the entire team could adopt in order to make the process of this more consistent and clear across the team.

Project management is something that I am interested in and passionate about therefore I thoroughly enjoy my apprenticeship programme. I am looking forward to further developing my knowledge in the upcoming modules for my apprenticeship and then putting this knowledge in to practice and gaining quality experience within my role at NatWest.

Truthfully I would say my programme isn't very well structured or organized. Myself and a lot of the other apprentices have noticed that the apprenticeship provider (BPP) often send out inaccurate comms with deadline and webinar dates not corresponding with those on the hub, this is extremely confusing. Furthermore, it was communicated that everyone would hear from the coach 1-2 weeks after the apprenticeship officially began but I didn't receive any communication until 4-5 weeks after. Again, this was difficult as at that time there were lots of different dates and times getting sent around regarding our deadlines and webinars so I wasn't sure when my webinar's actually were as the hub dates/ times were different from the ones sent in the emails. Due to the fact that I didn't know who my coach was it was difficult to confirm when my webinar's were.

I receive a great amount of support from my employer, when I first started my apprenticeship I was having some difficulty with my line manager as I didn't feel he understood what was going on within my apprenticeship and what my role was so I was often left with little to do during my day, giving me very little job satisfaction. I approached the release train manager within my team to voice my concerns and she couldn't have been more considerate and helpful. The release train manager is now my line manager as we felt this made sense as I was supporting her on a lot of the work she was doing. I feel this has really benefited me as I am constantly working on new things which in turn developed my knowledge, experience and skills.

So far my training provider has given me a reasonable amount of support when working towards my qualifications. I have recently sent over first draft of my module one submission to my coach and the feedback I received was very detailed and it provided me with a number of points and suggestions that will improve my submission event further.

I feel my qualification enables me to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the operating rhythm of my organisation. It enables me to have a deeper understanding of the various different topics and discussions that arise in a lot of the meetings I participate in. Because I understand fully what is being spoken about and the background of topics that are in discussion I am then able to provide quality support and suggestions to my team.

There are extra-curricular activities to get involved in such as volunteering, department hub days and apprentice networking events. I have attended both the department hub days and the apprenticeship networking events as I feel this is a great way to connect with people within my department and my apprenticeship and provides an opportunity to meet people face to face instead of a zoom call.

Yes

I would recommend NatWest to a friend as since I started 6 months ago I have received a lot of support from the people within my team, especially the release train manager. I have always felt comfortable when approaching her with any issues or concerns that I have and I always feel I am being encouraged by her to learn new skills and knowledge that will ultimately benefit myself and the team I am working within. Furthermore, I am quite a self critical person and the release train manager always encourages me to look back at what I have done and achieved so far instead of always focusing on things I have yet to learn.

If you have any concerns in your role whether that be you feel you are not learning/ doing enough or you are learning/ doing too much at the one time always speak up and voice these concerns in a professional way. The vast majority of the time these issues or concerns will be addressed and resolved in a positive manner.