Data Analyst apprentice Review

by Vodafone

Best Apprenticeship Employer

Rating

3.8/10

1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

I was working more in cell planning, within networks departments. I would plan cell sites within radio towers, and sometimes analyse the KPIs they produce for some forecasting and useful insights.

6/10

2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

None. I have learnt everything at college, and this heavily relied on my role working and building upon what I learnt on the degree course. Due to this lack of compatibility, it was really hard to balance it all, and ended up with a grade less than I was expecting.

4/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

It is ok. It was great for work/life balance. I ended up learning a lot of the Data analytics skills to keep updatated at home. Of course it would have been great to have a mentor who would teach you things and let you learn on your own.

7/10

4. How well organised/structured is your programme?

As explained previously, not well. My apprenticeship was far from what it should have been. I was left to learn things myself, and my course did not reflect the role I was in. There were no lines of help to address such issues.

3/10

5. How much support do you receive from your employer?

My manager is a likeable person, however he needs results. There are other people in the business that want to help, but do not know how. I was under a lot of pressure to deliver but it was difficult doing so as I do not have the skillset required.

5/10

6. How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

This was the worst part. I had experienced a lot of technical difficulties that affected my final grade, with the promise of this being fixed but IT NEVER DID. People want to 'help' and to some extent they did, but problems remained throughout the 3 years.

1/10

7. How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

None at all. Nothing is related. Sure, there is data analytics in everything. But the work I do now, are with programmes I have not been taught, doing things a network planner/engineer would do and not utilising hardly any skills a data analyst would do.

1/10

8. Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

There are socials, but these are mainly drinking socials at pubs. Nothing else really. Being someone who doesn't drink, it is hard to have some social life outside of my immediate team.

3/10

9a. Would you recommend Vodafone to a friend?

9b. Why?

It is 50/50. I became a mentor just so my experience does not happen to someone else. However, if you are in the right team with mentors around you, it is fantastic, as I have seen how well a person can flourish here.

10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Vodafone?

If you are in the wrong area, make sure to escalate to someone in HR. They will then point you in the correct direction. In my instance, there were no inductions due to COVID, which I think hindered me greatly.