Project Manager Review
at IBM
Degree Apprenticeship
Business Operations
London
Review Submitted: January 2022
Overall Rating
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
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Overview of Role
5/5
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Skills Development
3.2/5
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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
My role is a project manager with the responsibilities of leading a team of software developers, ensuring their work is meeting client needs, leading team meetings, managing project budget and forecasts and ensuring the well-being of team members. On a day-to-day basis I run progress meetings, check in with my developers and provide financial reports to senior project managers
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
I mostly enjoy my programme, I love the day to day client project work, however sometimes have a tough time combining the full time project work with my degree. Sometimes the degree work can get overwhelming during busy periods of the year, but other than that I enjoy my apprenticeship on a day to day basis.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
Yes! I have definitely developed my communication skills working with a range of people from so many different countries, as well as a range of clients from different industries. I have gained knowledge of how to manage finances, ways of working, sales techniques to use with clients and leadership skills to lead my team to success
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
4/5
My programme is well structured. I attend uni for lectures for 2 days every 3 weeks where I will travel to Manchester for face to face learning. My programme is 80% work and 20% study, so I am able to take the odd extra day outside of university for my studies during work. The flexibility is fgreat.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
3/5
Lots of support from IBM. We have apprenticeship managers who are dedicated to helping us succeed in our degrees and are also available for career support. I would prefer if they were purely there to help with degree and separate to project work but this is the current way it works.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
3/5
I have reviews with my uni tutor every term which are nice as a check up that you're coping alright with work load, assignments and any additional pressures. I sometimes feel that these are not necessary but we are all different and like to be supported in different ways.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
2/5
To be honest, in the first 3 years of my degree I felt like my course wasn't particularly relevant to my roles therefore I felt like I got most of my skills from the work experience. However the finance and strategy modules have helped me a lot in my roles. So I'd say about 40% of my qualification is applicable to my role
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
4/5
There are lots of social activities to get involved in as well as many internal communities such as "Dogs of IBM", Sports communities, Sports teams in London and also many cultural communities who each hold their own social events which are open to everyone. There is great openness to starting your own communities at IBM.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend IBM to a friend?
Yes
Why?
I would recommend IBM to a friend because it has been a great starting point to my career, I have had loads of different experiences in different roles and industries which have helped me decide where I was to go in my career. I think the degree scheme at IBM is well supported as well so it's great to get the qualification as well as experience!
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to IBM?
If you are a people person, you will love consulting! You should be open to trying a range of different roles and working with a range of people and different industries. Don't worry if you don't know exactly what you want to do in your career, this will be a great stepping stone to getting you the experience to know!
