Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Apprentice Review

My role is a corporate social responsibility and sustainability apprentice. This involves splitting my time 50/50 between our internal sustainability team and our CSR team. On the CSR side I am responsible for engaging with some of our charity partners and organising upskilling workshops to support our local community. On the sustainability side, I have been involved in sustainability functions like horizon scanning.

Having my time split between two teams, means that I have had a chance to improve lots of my soft skills like communicating with a large number of colleagues and time management. I have also had the opportunity to develop my knowledge of the subject area through research tasks at work and further through studying for my apprenticeship.

I am really enjoying my programme, as I have always been passionate about social and environmental justice. This apprenticeship has given me an opportunity to take this passion into work and feel like I'm making a real difference in my company. The company seems very receptive to this area, which is also really promising.

The programme seems fairly well structured, as there is a lot of subject matter and topic areas which are covered in a relatively short space of time. The opportunity to build up a portfolio of evidence of the tasks I have worked on is also really useful not just for my end point assessment, but also as I develop my career further.

My employer is very supportive, giving me 1 day per week for college and my study work, which is protected time. They have also been highly supportive with helping me develop my understanding of the type of work that our team is responsible for and what is required of me too.

My skills coach at the training provider has been very supportive, encouraging me to ask questions whenever there is anything I'm unsure of, or need support with. This has enabled me to submit any coursework to the best of my ability. I also like the feedback which they give on all the work I submit, as this enables me to do better the next time.

The qualification gives me a broader understanding of the importance of the tasks I complete at work. It provides the background of the sustainability world, which enables me to do my best on each task I complete. The modules that I work through as part of the apprenticeship all have some useful information which I can apply to my work.

There are several sports teams that can be joined through my office and Early careers socials run once a month, but there are other social events almost every week. I have also had the opportunity to join some members of my team at professional networking events, such as City Giving Day breakfasts.

Yes

I think that Mott MacDonald is a nice place to work, as the working culture is a very friendly one. The working is flexible, meaning only 3 days per week are required in the office, which is great from an inclusion perspective, and is very attractive to those who don't live so near one of our offices.

I would tell others applying to think about their best qualities before the interview. The interviewers will very likely want to hear what skills you have that you think can improve the business. I would also suggest researching and knowing a bit about the company, to show the interviewers that you are serious about working here and have an interest in what the company does.