Apprentice Economist Review

As an apprentice, the more you progress with your role, the more opportunity there is to lead on projects, so I have recently helped to develop a department wide survey. In my team, I am working to improve processes and help to review cases written by teams within my department.

The most obvious skill I have developed since starting this programme is understanding data, i.e. using excel and other software. Although, this isn't always a day to day experience (data analysis), it depends on what team you are in. I have gained great confidence in communication, presenting to senior colleagues has been crucial to my development.

Of course, as with most jobs there are many challenges, but it's up to you how you face/grow from them. This scheme is a great way to develop from these challenges as you are well supported by colleagues and the structure of the scheme, which includes check-ins with a university adviser. I get the most enjoyment from talking with other apprentices, and sharing experiences.

This scheme is still in it's early days but I think it has done tremendously well and has supported a lot of people in their career. There are clear milestones of the programme, where every 1/2 years there is an opportunity to change teams, which allows for development. Within departments, there is a structured hierarchy that is easy to understand.

My experience has been extremely positive in terms of support by managers and team leaders. There are opportunities outside of your team that are also available, as well as countless university support mechanisms in place. My managers have been keen to support my career and studies, and cater to any concerns I may have.

There are regular check-ins with a university adviser, these mainly focus on progression of your skills and behaviours, but there is some discussion on how university work is progressing, and if there is any extra support that should be provided. Overall, the people I have spoken to are eager to help.

There are many instances when you can apply your leaning at university to your work. Mostly, it gives you the wider context of economics in general. Sometimes it can be hard to draw a direct link, depending on what your team and you are working on, but discussions with your manager on your module can draw some useful insights.

There are lots of opportunities to get involved in extra-curricular activities! All networks are accessible and can provide some really interesting and key messages - such as the women's network, or the BAME network. Coming back to the office has meant there are more in person socials, including Christmas lunches!

Yes

I think that joining this programme has progressed my career in a stable, supportive and encouraging environment. There are so many opportunities to develop and lots of teams that have varied work, in case you try something you don't enjoy, there is the choice to change teams. It has been a good experience.

Be confident in your application, the people on this programme come from all different/ranging backgrounds and experiences, just keep your application to answering the questions in front of you! For the assessment day when reviewing data/documents given to you as an example, think about the key messages and try to summaries those. Also if there are any trends/patterns, you should suggest that there may be an impact from these.