compliance apprentice Review

Conducting internal, BMW Group as well as regulatory required reporting for 5 separate legal entities. Daily activities include answering ad-hoc Compliance queries from the business, conducting relevant reporting in a timely manner and supporting the team as well as overall business to reduce compliance risk. Saying that, the great thing about Compliance is tasks, projects and responsibilities vary so you do not do the same thing every day.

I have gained regulatory knowledge on the FCA. I have been able to improve and showcase my analytical skills, report writing, public speaking, presentation skills as well problem solving capabilities.

I have a very supportive team and line manager who are very patient, approachable and supporting of my learning journey as well as trusting and encouraging of my abilities to complete tasks. It can be difficult at times to balance work and studies which can be overwhelming if you do not time keep and organise your work meticulously.

Cannot fault the company I work for, my manager offers me immense support with my studies and is very understanding of the responsibilities and tasks I have to undertake both from a work and apprenticeship perspective. The service provider (KAPLAN) is unhelpful, I do not recommend working with them. Kaplan overload you with admin work that seeks no benefit to your learning and means you have to work extra hours just to properly evidence what you have learnt.

My manager is incredibly helpful. She has been a wonderful mentor, motivator, fountain of knowledge and biggest supporter throughout my apprenticeship. My team have been wonderful too with their support, expertise and encouragement as well as understanding of my apprenticeship responsibilities.

ICA is great. The material is straightforward and the assignments styles are explained clearly. I personally would not recommend Kaplan. They overload students with repetitive admin work that seeks no to your learning. The tasks set by Kaplan are tedious, time consuming and unproductive. My last learning tutor had zero experience in the career field I was in.

Overall, I have more of an understanding of why me and my team carry out certain tasks and the regulatory history, expectations and requirements set on my business and on the Compliance department which has helped me understand for context why I do certain tasks. I would not say the qualification helps me better perform 10/10 because I did get penalised for using workplace examples in one of my assignments of my level 3 qualification. Sometimes the information learnt in my qualification is too generic for my role however is a good FYI for context.

There are a few product showcase, sports events, quiz nights, volunteering days as well as networking events to go to.

Yes

Very positive and open workplace culture. All associates are very approachable, positive individuals who work towards the same goal, and are happy to help you. The company offers many benefits to full time employees e.g. great private health care, company car, pension scheme etc. The Company values ethical conduct, Sustainability and Compliance and actively practices this. Hybrid working is offered which helps save money and time on commuting. One minor negative is the pay is quite low and starting as an apprentice, the company does not allow you to skip function levels after finishing your apprenticeship even with the skills and experience you have attained after 4 years of being an apprentice.

BE A BUSINESS ENABLER.Find ways to support your team, manager , stakeholders in your role etc because that is how you can progress and show your capabilities to others. Networking is very important, in order to progress in your role and in the business you need to be a confident self-advocate of your work and capabilities.