Sourcing Project Associate Review

My role as a Sourcing Project Associate is to support the Sourcing Project Managers in sourcing services and goods required by Pharmaceutical Science or Pharmaceutical Technology & Development from external suppliers. On a day to day basis I am in regular contact with suppliers to request quotes, confirm delivery timelines and ensure on time, in full delivery of the sourced services to the sites. I also have regular meetings with the Sourcing Project Managers I work with where we discuss what outstanding tasks there are and how the projects are doing. I get a good variety of work as I work across to different areas of sourcing involving both the sourcing of goods and services so I get lots of exposure to the different aspects of supply chain and I enjoy the range of work I get involved with. As I have developed experience and knowledge I have also started to get involved with some continual improvement projects to help improve our current processes and simplify our ways of working. This has been really interesting and has allowed me to collaborate with colleagues outside of the sourcing team. I also get 20% of my time allocated to completing my university work, I tend to take a Friday to do this. However, it is very flexible and up to you to choose when to take it so sometimes I will do a couple of hours spread out across the week if I have quiet times at work as I find it easier to complete this little and often but every apprentice is different and it is great how it is up to you to choose when you take this time so it suits your preferences.

I have developed both new and existing skills throughout my first 9 months of my apprenticeship. I was already confident in communicating with different people due to studying languages and having previous experience working with people of different ages and backgrounds. However, since joining AstraZeneca I have learnt how to communicate with different business stakeholders both internally and externally. I have also developed my time management skills as supporting multiple projects, completing university work and ensuring day to day tasks are all completed on time and correctly requires great organisation. AstraZeneca have massively supported my development of key skills through providing courses for all apprentices such as "Personal Effectiveness Training" where skills such as communication, time management and presenting to teams was covered. In terms of what I have learnt on my University course I have not only started to learn about the principles of supply chain but we have also been taught about academic writing and creating our portfolios of evidence which are required for your end point assessment at the end of your apprenticeship.

Choosing to join AstraZeneca and complete this degree apprenticeship has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. From the beginning I have always felt really well supported, my personal development has always been priority in terms of receiving additional responsibility at work and when it comes to discussing my university assignments. My team are all really friendly and very supportive of the apprentice role. The overall experience has well exceeded my expectations.

The structure and organisation of my programme has been very positive. Even before my start date I had lots of communication regarding my induction, details about my university course structure and meetings with my manager. Once I started I was given an overview of the whole company and then my specific department and I had a structured training plan to get me up to speed and competent with my job role. I have regular one to one meetings with my manager and mentor to discuss my progress and identify any areas where I could develop further for both work based and university aspects . My apprenticeship includes a rotation into a different department in my second year and this has already started to be discussed and planned which is good as I will know well in advance where I am going and we can discuss if there is a particular department I would prefer to go to.

The support I receive from my employer has been exceptional. This was one of the reasons I decided to go ahead with this apprenticeship with AstraZeneca as during the interview stage and once receiving the job offer it was evident that the company were focused on supporting me to do my best and develop. AstraZeneca has a massive apprentice community and the whole company are very supportive of all of the apprenticeships. Whenever I am learning something new or have an assignment to write focused on something in the workplace everyone is open to support you and give you the help or information you need.

The degree side of my apprenticeship is supported by two training providers: Leeds Trinity University and The Supply Chain Academy. Both of these training providers are always on hand to support with any queries or questions us students have. This is usually done via email or you can book in a teams meeting if preferred. I have enjoyed all of the module deliveries so far although are most recent module was delivered in person and I have to say that found the delivery in person a lot better than online. It was easier to ask questions, discuss the topics with the other students and I came away from the teaching days feeling a lot more confident that I knew what I was doing with my assignments than when they have been delivered online. For our second year we are still going to be having a mixture of in person and online deliveries but I am happy that most of them will be in person as I preferred this. Another good form of support from the training providers is that the University have a team called the learning hub who are academics that you can book either in person or online meetings with to review your assignments or discuss for example writing styles, references etc. You can have one meeting a week and I have made use of this many times to review my assignments and ensure my writing style and structure is correct.

My Degree is supply chain leadership which goes hand in hand with my job role within the clinical supply chain at AstraZeneca. All of the modules delivered by the Supply Chain Academy link specifically to the different aspects of supply chain that we have at my organisation and relate to every business so it is very transferable. What I learn through Leeds Trinity helps with some of the softer skills such as writing styles and reflection on my learning.

When I first started Covid was still a big restricting factor on being able to socialise as usual at AstraZeneca. However, throughout the first few months there was plenty of virtual weekly quiz's arranged by some of the other apprentices which were great fun. My own sourcing team also have a weekly quiz on a Friday afternoon which always something nice to look forward to. More recently since the Covid restrictions have slackened at work there is a lot more being arranged some of them being : A colour run in Manchester next month and an apprentice volunteering day to give back to the local communities in Macclesfield. There is also a fitness club on site at Macclesfield and people from all different departments attend the wide range of classes on offer and some teams go together during our lunch break. In my 6 months of being at the company I have attended multiple team building days aswell as a Christmas party which was great since it included the whole company. I attend football on Mondays with member of my team and other people in different companies who work on the same site as me. When I am not working, I attend social event with the other first year apprentices so we have that social aspect of the apprenticeship and it isn't just work.

Yes

When I was looking for a degree apprenticeship I applied to so many different companies and had interviews for over 15. However, none of them seemed to have the same level of support and interest in apprentices as AstraZeneca does. Since I have joined I have seen more and more how invested AstraZeneca are in their apprentices and the massive value they see in having us. The overall company values provide a great working environment where everyone is encouraged to collaborate and work together to help deliver positive impacts for our patients.

AstraZeneca is such a huge company and there really are opportunities in every single department for apprentices. Have a look at the wide range of apprenticeships on offer and apply for the one you think you'd enjoy the most. Also don't be put off by it being a pharmaceutical company, although science is at the heart of what AstraZeneca do there are so many different roles and opportunities that are none science related. My apprenticeship within supply chain is a great example of this and there are also opportunities within areas such as HR, IT, Finance, Procurement.... just to name a few!