Business Support Apprentice Review

Working with colleagues in the team to provide diary and administrative support to directors and their teams. Included diary management, managing correspondence, liaising with internal and external stakeholders

I learned skills in business management, health and safety in the workplace, written communication skills in email and Microsoft word, how to use excel properly, how to communicate formally to stakeholders in the company, how to organise and prepare briefings for meetings, how to report accidents or dangerous occurrences at work, and how to present business improvement ideas to colleagues in the team

I enjoyed it quite a lot, my first tutor was great however he left halfway through the programme. After a delay of about a month I received a new tutor who was also great and helpful, however losing the month of learning impacted my final finish date which made the experience more stressful

It wasn’t extremely organised as we did have a one month gap in between tutors, and I didn’t receive any communication about this other than that I would receive a new tutor ‘soon’. This was disruptive to my daily job and workload however once we did have a new tutor the structure and organisation improved.

My employer was very supportive and made sure I had as much time as I needed to study for this course and complete exams and coursework in the required time. My manager helped me to find the best times during the week where I could take a few hours to study and not have it impact my day to day role.

Not very much support to be honest, we were mostly left to our own devices besides having monthly calls where our tutors seemed to be reading off of the slides or a notes page, and they didn’t offer much else apart from that. However it was easy enough to work on the materials by myself

I think my qualification definitely helped me to perform better in my role however I could have performed well in this role without the qualification too. The qualification taught my office skills and administration however I think I would have learned and picked up on those skills naturally as I progressed int this role. However the course was helpful

Yes there are lots of extra curricular networks for example the Jewish network who often host events, there’s a classical music network who frequently perform concerts. There are also networking opportunities which arise from completing projects within teams, for example I visited the American embassy as one of my colleagues was working with them on a project.

Yes

Great structure of programme that encourages personal work and development and allows you to fit it into your working day completely and supports your workload. The tutors are friendly and helpful if you need to speak with them and coursework is easily accessible online via the learning portal. Thank you!

Research the apprenticeship course thoroughly before applying and work out how it would support you and encourage you to develop within your professional role. Consider whether you have enough time to balance study with your workload and whether anyone in your organisation has ever done an apprenticeship, reach out to them and discuss their experiences beforehand.