Employee Benefits Administration Apprentice Review

On a daily basis, my role involves the processing and administration of the benefits that are available to Cummins employees who work in the UK. For example, a cycle to work scheme, private medical insurance, financial education to name a few. I also process invoicing for some of the benefits we offer, and provide employees with the relevant information on each benefit

Since joining Cummins and starting my apprenticeship I have learned many transferable skills that are applicable to an office working environment. Through my role I have received hand on experience with working in a company, and gained guidance on what it takes to work in a HR/ administrative role. Through my apprenticeship which focused on Business Administration I have learned my business principles and theory that went hand in hand with my day to day role. For example, as part of my apprenticeship I had to give evidence and an explanation where I deal with customers. Due to my role within a HR environment I deal with many internal customers within the company (employees in the UK, and some parts of Europe), and a few external customers out side of the company (Suppliers).

I really enjoyed my apprenticeship programme. I found it very thorough in the content it included and what I needed to learn. As I have mentioned above the theory it provided, gave me detailed knowledge that I could use in my day to day role that I might have not gained otherwise. I found the topics my course covered particularly interesting, as certain sections had me research the company in different scenarios e.g. how Cummins impacted the local and wider environment. Without these sort of topics I wouldn't have gained further knowledge of the company I work for.

My programme had great structure. It involved me receiving work booklets that covered various topics. For each topic I would receive two booklets, one would cover the theory for that topic, while the other would contain several assignment based/ essay style questions that I needed to complete. I personally found this useful, as I have always found that it is much easier to answers 6-8 shorter questions, then 1 or 2 long answer questions. I also had to complete a project that I could lead and document the progress on. This had to be either the incorporation of a new process, or the review of an existing process that was completed while on the job. In my day to day role, I process various benefits to Cummins employees. For each of these benefits we have an instruction that explaining how we go about processing each benefit. I based my project on reviewing and where necessary amending these instructions. The end point assessment part of my apprenticeship was also very well structed. As it consisted of a 50 question multiple choice test, which included question on all of the theory I had learned. The assessment also required me to have a formal discussion. This was split into two parts, one half involved me giving a presentation on my project, and the other involved me being asked various question on the how of my apprenticeship and my project. Each question that I answered had to meet the relevant criteria for my course.

The support I received from my employee was brilliant. I was given access to whatever resources I required to complete my course, e.g. information on different topics or time spent with other departments if I required it. I particular appreciated the time I was given for my leaning. As I was told that my course came first and that if I wanted to I could take two full working days a week to complete my learning, as well as doing any work om this when I had addental free time. Overall My employee went above and beyond what i had expected, when it came to assisting me with the college side of my learning.

I received very beneficial support form my college tutor/ training provider. She always made sure to talk me through each work booklet that I needed to complete, so that I had a thorough understanding of the theory for each topic, before I went to answer the exam questions for that topic. She also made herself available whenever I needed to contact her to further explain, or clarify any questions I had. For example, when I was working through my project, I had lots of questions about what I needed to include. She also helped my with my presenting skills prior to me having to do my end point assessment presentation. This was very valuable as confidence is something I often struggle with, as a result of me having Autism/ Aspergers.

I feel that my qualification has really benefited me in my day to day role, as often wheat I learned in my course went hand in hand with my on the job role. For example, I learned about structural hierarchy's as one of the topics I had to complete. This impacted me in my role, as it provided me with a greater understanding of where I sit within Cummins compared to the rest of the company. The project I had to complete as part of my course also benefited my day to day role. As it had to be based on a new or existing process. For this reason I chose to base my project on reviewing the work instruction we have for each of the benefits we provide to employees. This was useful, as it gave me a greater understanding of my day to day role. This was due to the fact that I had to review instructions for some of the benefits I don't usually administer, and I likely wouldn't have been involved with these additional processes otherwise.

Every year Cummins employees are encouraged to complete voluntary work in our local community. We are allowed to take part in as many activity's as we like, as long as it has a positive impacts on the community in some capacity. For example, I have completed litter picking in Darlington around the area of the Cummins site I work at. I have also attended in-company events/seminars which had an aim of raising awareness in various topics, such as women in engineering. My team also has work nights out or events that we use for team building. We often do these once or twice each quarter. These are often either as part of the company through offsite events, or outside of working hours.

Yes

I feel that Cummins is a really diverse and inclusive company. We operate in many different countries al over the world. For this reason we have a broad range of skilled employees, who cover a range of nationalities, races, and beliefs. I personally think that Cummins is invested in it's employees. For example, I have Autisms and I started out with Cummins three years ago, doing 3 months 1 day a week work experience. This was arranged through Cummins wanting to partner with Daisy Chain (a local Autism related charity). This work experience was extended for a further three months and then to a full year with me going to full time after 6 months with the company. Cummins showed a vested interest in me, as after my work experience had ended they offered me a 18 month - 2 years, Level 3 apprenticeship. I have completed this qualification, and am currently having a trial period in another Cummins department.

Though I cant really advise any tips to give applicants applying to Cummins as I joined the company through work experience which then led to an apprenticeship. I haven't been through the application process with Cummins. The best tip I would give is to learn from your mistakes and take whatever opportunities you can.