Strategic Sourcing Admin Apprentice Review

My role is that I look after building relationships with suppliers and I look at onboarding new suppliers if there is no current route for sales people to source from. I also have a selected number of Vendor and Distributor rebate programmes which I look after and carry out monthly checks for to ensure Softcat are getting the correct amount of rebate from our suppliers.

My job role has really allowed and encouraged me to take on responsibilities which I had never thought that I would of been capable of. My multi-task skills and productivity of my work has increased massively as I am getting a lot more work done in a quicker amount of time, so that I am able to stay on top of my workload. I have also developed in confidence more as I am now having calls with external suppliers regarding the rebate programmes that I manage for selected suppliers.

I do really enjoy my work as I really enjoy the responsibilities that I take on for the team. Even though I am an apprentice I still feel just as valued as the other members in my team and I enjoy the responsibilities that my team have given me in order to progress in my career.

The programme at the start wasn't that well structured as I was just having training here and there and sometimes I was being sent work that I hadn't even been trained on. It was more me pushing my team to ensure my training and training was all up to date. So I would advise for the training programme to be a lot more structured for the new apprentices that come along as it wasn't the best experience for myself. I had to take a lot of responsibility for my own learning.

I find that I do receive a lot of support from my employer, my whole team and manager. overall my team are very friendly and supportive towards me and they are always willing to help me if I require the support.

My training provider is good but I feel as though they could be more supportive towards our apprenticeship journeys by offering more 1 to 1 sessions and offering smaller group calls so the trainer is able to focus more on each individual for extra support.

The qualification definitely improves my knowledge in terms of how a business is ran and operated and some of the topics we go through in our apprenticeship can be related back to my job role. I also feel like our project at the end of the apprenticeship will really relate to the teamwork that I have in my team as everyone will have different roles and responsibilities for making the outcome successful.

At my work we have team dinners and lunches, team nights out and all different events that are celebrated in the office throughout the year. We also have really good facilities to use at lunch time such as a pool table and table-tennis table which I enjoy playing. We also have a 6 a side football team which occurs every monday night.

Yes

I would recommend Softcat to a friend as even though it can be hard work at times because you can be very busy with your job. It still is a really fun place to work as there is always some sort of celebration going on in the office and they do really treat you well here which is always important for employees to feel valued from the company that they work for.

My tips and advice for others applying to Softcat would be to grasp the opportunity with both hands and to make the most of your experience of being an apprentice at Softcat. The key is to learn as much as you can from the other members of your team and to ask and challenge them. I would also advice making the most of getting involved in all social aspects of which the company has to offer as it is a great opportunity to meet more people and it will only widen your network within the business.