Business Administration Apprentice Review

I worked in a data team supporting account managers and a field sales team. My role involved taking ownership and responsibility for data & dashboards for large national retailers along with wholesalers and the field sales team. I also became an expert in these areas and acted as the key point of contact for stakeholder queries and resolving any issues.

I've improved my time management skills, the ability to prioritise when under deadlines and overall I feel more confident delivering presentations and providing updates on team/departmental calls and answering questions from other stakeholders. I've developed all of these through my varied experience in the role and practicing these skills regularly since.

I enjoyed the masterclasses delivered by the training provider, these were every 6-8 weeks and sometimes I even had the chance to work with apprentices from other organisations. My manager also gave me autonomy to manage my tasks how I wanted, I felt empowered by this and I believe I was more reliable at delivering projects and tasks as a result.

Despite the fact that we were all working remotely when I started the programme we were given an effective introduction by Unilever to the business and key stakeholders. The communication from the training provider was also excellent as to the order of the programme and the timeline to complete the apprenticeship qualification.

My line manager, Unilever and Manpower (apprentice employer) were fantastic throughout given that we were working remotely during a challenging time. My line manager in particular was always ready and willing to help, she really helped my self development by involving me with different stakeholders and asking me to present to senior stakeholders. She also regularly checked in to find out how I was coping and also where I wanted to go within Unilever following the completion of my apprenticeship.

I undertook regular masterclasses where we ran through subjects required to complete the programme and an assignment was usually given at the end of the masterclass. My coach was always on hand over email too to answer any questions and peer review work- my coach gave me practical feedback to really help my self development and we also had regular catch-ups with my line manager to discuss my progress and future areas for development.

I'm now an account manager and my apprenticeship taught me core skills like effective communication, presenting to stakeholders, making data based decisions and managing my time effectively. These are key skills which can be used in many roles within Unilever and outside of Unilever while real work experience gave me the ability to put these skills into practice. This was important for me as I learn by doing.

Yes

Unilever is a fantastic place to start your career- I found that all of my colleagues were so supportive in developing me as an employee and as a person. I was always busy in my role so I could practically apply what I was learning to real work situations. My line manager and coach were so supportive, I was never afraid to ask any questions.

Make sure that when highlighting your skills at the interview/assessment centre you also talk about the areas you'd like to improve/develop on and how you think Unilever can help you with these. Unilever offers great training & development opportunities from e-learning courses to workshops plus the practical experience of being in the world of work.