Project Management Review

I form part of the project management team within the Quality assurance department. I am currently taking lead in a SQEP improvement project across quality, and aim to deliver a tool for Leaders to help when managing their team members and their competencies across the roles required skill set. as part of this we engage with multiple stakeholders to tailor the platforms to meet their requirements, as well as manage the RAID log and action tracker for the project to name a few aspects.

I have learnt a number of skills whilst being in my current role, Namely my I.T. skills have improved drastically through the use of Excel and SharePoint. I already had a basic knowledge of Excel however being in role and taking on this project has allowed me to learn advanced formulas and techniques in order to produce a high quality platform for the Skills matrix to be housed. SharePoint however, was a completely fresh experience, so i have been learning about web design and document control, to create a usable and secure website.

I throughout enjoy working in the business and I am passionate about the work we do. The multiple 6 month placements properly my favourite aspect about the programme as it has allowed me to jump through various areas around site and take the lessons learn into future placements like my exit role.

Overall the businesses structure is relatively east to understand as soon as you get used to it. their is now a good structure to the scheme however as we started in the early stages of the degree scheme, the organisation of the scheme fluctuated year on year. as stated previously though i am now happy with the last year of my apprenticeship.

I do sometimes have concerns with the communication from and early careers perspective. sometimes it is hard to get a quick response via email. However, do do find the 1 to 1 sessions helpful and supportive, i believe the main reason for a lack in support is how secluded the early careers hub is compared to the rest of site and the difficulty in booking a room into the building for impromptu sessions. Placement support however is a lot more hands on and great for the day to day support.

we are given 20% of the job per week for our university studies, for this 20% the university of Cumbria delivers a tutoring session followed by additional resources and activities to complete and upload to our online learning journal. the tutor will then provide feed back based on your outputs, focusing on areas of improvement.

I believe that the UoC curriculum as well as the APM PQ provide great content, including the fundamental principles and methodologies to follow when carrying out a project. however this is not always as clean cut as project management is not a "on size fits all" this is why experience and on the job training is vital as it shows real life situations and how you can form the standard practices into your project.

There are many opportunities withing early careers to get involved in stretch activities, these are most commonly used to target specific skills gaps for an individual and to expand ones network within the business. Other gatherings such as local sports clubs and social events are also organised by the local student council

Yes

I would recommended BAE to a friend as I believe the work we do here is really important and provides a real sense of self gratification as a positive motive. I also believe that there are so many opportunities that are able to be capitalised upon by working through the business. for example if you would like to work overseas then BAE has multiple sites across multiple different countries.

People should already have a pretty good idea of where they would like their career path to go, however this can be very helpful when deciding what departments to align yourself with and who your relevant stakeholders are to network with. With this being said, i entered the business with my heart set on one role and ended up on the polar opposite, and i am very happy that i did end up in quality as now i see the role in a different light with a new sense of appreciation for it, so do not worry if you are unclear on where you want to end up too, there are many opportunities waiting.