Associate Pensions Technician Review

Item: Associate Pensions Technician at Cheshire West and Chester Council
Rating: 4.4
Author: Anonymous

at Cheshire West and Chester Council

Level 3 Apprenticeship

Business Operations

Chester

Review Submitted: November 2021

Overall Rating

4.4 /5

The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!

4.5/5 - Overview of Role

5/5 - Skills Development

3.8/5 - Structure and Support

Overview of Role

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

5/5

- Calculate refunds of pension contributions.
- Processing Post 2014 Concurrency’s.
- Processing Deferments.
- Initial Transfer In and Transfer Out stages .
- Processing historic Hour Changes and Pensionable Pay queries.
- Monitoring the Pensions Inbox account as a first point of contact.
-Answering Pensions Helpdesk calls as a first point of contact.

To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

4/5

I enjoyed the Apprenticeship programme as it allowed me to expand my knowledge in different areas such as Regulation and Legislation. In addition, I learnt more information about different types of pensions schemes, rather than just Local Government which I felt was beneficial.

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

5/5

I feel my planning and organising has improved since undergoing the apprenticeship, in addition to my confidence increasing.

Structure and Support

How well organised/structured is your programme?

3/5

Initially not very well organised/structured. Meetings would often be cancelled with very little notice and felt I had no support with ongoing work, however since changing apprenticeship tutor, I cannot fault the organisation/structure of the apprenticeship. I knew all my deadlines and constant support provided when required.

How much support do you receive from your employer?

5/5

My employer was a great support whilst I was completing the apprenticeship. Always contactable with any queries which I had and frequently checked in on the progress of the apprenticeship.

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

3/5

Initially very little support with old apprenticeship tutor - requirements for Gateway were not fully explained and I was also held up from entering Gateway because of this. New tutor explained process fully and provided ongoing support from taking over.

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

4/5

My knowledge across pension schemes as a whole as expanded, aswell as my knowledge on Legislation and Regulation which I researched. I can apply my research on Legislation and Regulation to my daily tasks.