Operational Management Apprentice Review

My title was Operational Management Apprentice, working within the banking, reconciliations and control team. I was involved in the reconciliations of client and custodian accounts, including escalation of any discrepancies that arose. I was also responsible for raising and approving manual payments to be distributed internally and to clients of Fidelity.

Over the course of the apprenticeship, I was expected to attend courses arranged by Fidelity which aimed to develop interpersonal, management and leadership skills, which I found very useful. I also found adapting to an office environment developed many different skills in terms of communication and presentation skills. Fidelity offers lots of opportunities to develop and learn new skills.

I thoroughly enjoyed the programme. It offered an alternative route to university, allowing me to earn a salary whilst learning on the job and gaining a qualification. Despite my time being mainly from home, due to covid restrictions, Fidelity ensured I had all the resources I required and allowed me to develop my understanding of the company and industry.

The programme is very well structured. I had regular catch ups with the early careers team to understand and check in on my goals and progress. It was clear when I was expected to complete exams and when I was expected to complete the overall programme. I found the early careers team were always willing to help and support me.

I found the early careers team were always willing to help and support me. I had regular catch ups with the early careers team and my manager ensured we had a weekly one to one meeting to catch up and offer any support. Fidelity overall was very supportive over the course of the programme.

Fitch resources were very useful and most were very up to date. I found this very useful when studying towards the IOC exams. I did however find the mentoring/coaching provided by Fitch to be challenging at times. It can be heard to get hold of your mentor when asking for support or advice and I was made aware that each mentor at Fitch has a huge number of students to look after, which means the support offered is limited, in my opinion. This however is no reflection on Fidelity and was entirely Fitch (the training provider). Fidelity careers team was very helpful in raising my concerns and trying to gain the required support from Fitch.

The exams touched on a variety on subjects and topics based around financial services and the markets. The qualification enabled me to further understand the company and the wider industry. This allowed me to apply what I had learned to my daily role and therefore understand the reasoning behind some of my daily tasks.

Yes there are events such as quizzes, challenges etc to get involved in. I joined the company during covid lockdown so it was slightly challenging for Fidelity to arrange events but did their best despite the situation. There are nights out available in the Cannon Street office to have cocktails etc which is great to attend as a team.

Yes

Fidelity looks after their employees, offering competitive benefits. The company ensures you have all the tech and equipment required to perform your role from home and provides an allowance to do so. There is a nice culture in the office and the facilities are excellent. There's a gym onsite at one of the offices which is free to use.

Anyone looking to apply to Fidelity International should understand what the company does, how they fit within the industry and understand the challenges and competitors to Fidelity. It's also important to be personable as your personality will go a long way at Fidelity - ultimately people need to fit within a team despite your knowledge.