Finance Officer Review

My current role as finance officer has progressed from my initial roles as finance apprentice and then finance assistant. My previous roles are where the apprenticeship was based this included; accounts payables, accounts receivables and purchase orders, credit card reconciliation, expense claims, student bursaries, dealing with petty cash, monitoring the mail box and other tasks like that.

Overall I have learnt and developed many different skills. As I started the apprenticeship straight form my GCSEs I had little to no knowledge in accounting so knew that this was would be an opportunity to gain many new skills. My excel skills have improved massively and also my ability to compose emails to a variety of recipients. My skills across the whole range of accounting tasks are new abilities that I have learnt.

I thoroughly enjoy the college day a week as I think it keeps it challenging as you have the one day a week to study so it's important to keep up with revision etc but it's also nice that the time is set out for you so you don't have to make extra time for it. It also has helped to develop my knowledge in relation to the tasks I complete at work.

I think it's pretty well organised. The college days are set out really clearly and we are told at the beginning of the college year when ar exams are scheduled for and when we are starting the different modules. I've found this really helpful when it comes to ensuring I have the correct books and also when it comes to scheduling my revision.

My employer is really supportive, there are many apprenticeship events within the university which brings together apprentices across many different fields within the university. There are always new activities being introduced for the apprentices that brings everyone together. I also get a certain amount of study in days in addition to my college days which is helpful when an exam is coming up.

The support I receive from my college tutor is amazing. I've found throughout that she has been really supportive and is always more than happy to go over things in a different way if you don't understand it and always dedicates one on one time to all her students which is amazing.

I think it helped quite a bit in my finance apprentice and assistant roles. However, I feel as though it could only have helped to a certain extent as my work role was more finance related whereas college work is more accounting based. However, now in my finance officer role I am finding that the stuff I'm learning in college really helps with what I am learning at work so it helps me to perform better than I could without the qualification.

Due to covid of course the amount of activities has reduced. There are lots of networking events and many other social activities that happen throughout the year. I believe there are several different groups that get together to do a variety of different sports activities. There are lots of opportunities to get involved in extra-curricular activities.

Yes

As an employer the university is extremely supportive when it comes to any help or adjustments that you may need in your work life whether that is a result of your personal life, your health etc. There are also lots of opportunities for career development; there are so many different training courses etc that staff can go and do.

I would say when writing your support statement make sure to relate the information you are writing relates to the requirements in the job description. I think when it comes to interviewing there's nothing specific to the university that I would say; but just be as confident as you can, make sure you have done research on the university and/or the particular department/college that you are applying for.