Vendor Alliance Apprentice Review

My role in vendor alliances is to make sure the relationship between Softcat and Dell is a positive and engaging one. I have the responsibility of helping to look after the client side of our business, therefore help Softcat' s AM's with hardware requirements/queries and deals. Another main factor in my role is organising engagement and training days where we are able to build relationships with the sales teams and explain to them what we can offer both on our internal team and what Dell can offer.

Since starting my role at Softcat I have developed a lot of key skills which are not only needed in the workplace but key life skills. Some of the skills I have seen the most development in are confidence, teamwork, time management, responsibility and many more. Having such a big responsibility despite only being an apprentice really allows you to develop these skills.

I am very much enjoying my apprenticeship programme. as there is a lot of variation and things to be getting involved in. We have regular learning calls with our apprenticeship provider as a group and individual and there are also plenty of occasions to socialise with the other apprentices we joined with!

We are focused on our role for 4 days a week and then have 1 day where we dedicate our time to our apprenticeship coursework. This gives us enough time to ensure we are putting maximum effort into both. We also have plenty of catch-up sessions with our training provider as well to make sure we are on track and can raise any queries if needed, alongside setting our self targets.

Our employer provides us with a lot of support with our apprenticeship. If there is a task I'm struggling with I can comfortably go to someone in my team and ask for some help with this. Our manager also joins quarterly calls with us and our training provider where we can set targets and go through any problems we have.

We have a dedicated training provider who we can go to if we are stuck with anything regarding coursework, work balance or anything in general. They also mark and leave feedback on our work and let us know where we can improve.

The qualification teaches us key business skills and scenarios which come up in our day to day role. For example, we will get training on time management techniques which we can use to prioritise our workload, or get excel training which will help us use this platform in our role.

There are plenty of groups, networks and socials to get involved with at Softcat. There are lot's of social events, dinners and drinks which you can attend and there are also activities such as a 5 aside football team, cricket team, even a poker club!

Yes

Softcat is a great company full of young people which really helps you feel welcome as an apprentice, There are plenty of people in the same position as you and the people focused culture is what Softcat is known for. There won't be many jobs out there where you get such a big responsibility and support at such a young age.

I would just say to be yourself and show off your personality. Also, there are so many different roles in Softcat so even if you don't get the role you apply for definitely give another role a shot and there are plenty of opportunities to move around and develop other skills, so my tip is just apply!