Senior Financial Services Customer Adviser Apprentice

Describe Your Role And What It Entails

Within my role I am primarily customer based which means that I get to see a whole range of people from all walks of life. Now I am working as a cashier so while I deal with cash deposits and withdrawals, I also help customers with setting up bill payments and resetting their security codes. I also work in the front office by supporting with digital set up and resets, along with all kinds of deposit and cheque machines. In my role there are plenty of opportunities to develop and this is something that I have been using to my full advantage through helping run both financial wellbeing and financial education sessions.

What have been your highlights?

My highlights so far have been when I worked with University College Birmingham to open International Student accounts. We ran two sessions across the day along with a PowerPoint which was presented to over 300 students who have very recently begun their educational journey in the UK. Not only did I get the chance to talk about fraud and open accounts, but I also assisted in setting up their mobile banking, a savings account and getting them registered for a global money account which suited their needs perfectly. I have also recently taken part in a Q&A session with the early careers team where I spoke to 200 potential apprentices that were interested in an apprenticeship or graduate programme. I particularly enjoyed this as so many young people don’t realise that they can enter the work of banking without a degree. 

What have been your challenges?

A challenge I have found has been around fraud. Now more than ever, the rates of fraud have been soaring compared to other years and working on the counter has exposed me to all different kinds of fraudsters and attempts. When I first started in my role, I struggled to get my head around the fact that every customer, even if they are known to the branch, are possible fraudsters and equally any customer could be a potentially vulnerable customer too. It was challenging to understand and learn all the due diligence and scam questions but with so much support and training opportunities, I now feel confident and comfortable in protecting our customers against fraud.

What have you learnt from your experience in the role?

From my experience in my role, I have learnt a wide variety of different skills from customer service development to networking with other companies within the local area. I have learnt how to be a cashier which involves a lot of problem solving and have also grown my networking skills across many different companies.

What advice would you give to a student following in your footsteps? 

My advice to any student following in my footsteps would be to take every opportunity going whether it be big or small, as even the small opportunities have potential to turn into something great.