Procurement Apprentice Review

As a Procurement Apprentice, each day is very different. My role comprises of a combination of shadowing senior buyers and management in negotiations/meetings, liasing with my own internal stakeholders to better understand their needs, arranging meetings with suppliers in order to strengthen relationships and gain the best value for money and ensuring that the administrative essentials that sit behind the work are complete.

Part of being an apprentice is learning new skills all day every day. Each and every day I learn more about not only the world of procurement, but the wider world of finance too. As well as role-related information, I feel that I develop personally and professionally an awful lot. Being an apprentice in the corporate world has strengthened my confidence and ability to conduct myself professionally.

I really enjoy my role and feel that I thrive in my organisation. At times it is difficult to balance the high demands of the apprenticeship programme with full time work, however my workplace are absolutely amazing at giving me surplus time to complete this work. I feel that the apprenticeship programme itself, however, is incredibly over demanding and expects an awful lot of time and attention to be dedicated to it.

At times, I feel that the apprenticeship programme is well structured. However, I feel that my provider are relatively unorganised and often spring full days of learning on us at very short notice, which when working full time is near impossible to fulfill. Again, if my organisation weren't as understanding and generous about my time, I would find this very difficult.

Since the very beginning of my employment, my employer has gone above and beyond to ensure that I am comfortable with the workload and content that I am able to fulfill the needs of the apprenticeship. I am incredibly grateful for the support that I have received from them and feel that without that support, I would really struggle with the apprenticeship.

In some aspects, my training provider have been great in preparing us for upcoming examinations. For example, the in-person study days are delivered exceptionally, and the tutors are willing to go above and beyond to help. However, I feel that in other aspects, such as assignments, we are poorly prepared. I am aware, however, that a mailbox is available for us to contact the tutors should we have any specific questions content-wise, but I do often find that the response rate is relatively slow for this.

I feel that my qualification is incredibly beneficial in aiding my ability to perform in my role. By learning the theory behind the job, I am able to put what I have learnt into action constantly, which aids my ability to perform in a best practice manner. Therefore, without the qualification I feel that I would not be achieving as highly as I am now.

Yes, there are lots of extra-curricular activities at Experian. We have mini-societies throughout the organisation and an Early-Careers Social committee who organise social activities for all apprentices and graduates to network. Furthermore, my department itself are very social, with regular team lunches and outings to socialise. There are also several sports teams and workout classes at Experian for all employees to participate in.

Yes

Everything about the organisation is just great - the culture, the people, the environment. I wouldn't change anything.

Be yourself. Prepare well for any interviews and be confident in your ability