Apprentice Review
at NatWest Group
Higher Level Apprenticeship
Finance
Edinburgh
Review Submitted: March 2022
Overall Rating
3.9 /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!
3.5/5
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Overview of Role
4/5
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Skills Development
3.6/5
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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:
4/5
On a day to day basis I am learning how to be a project manager. I have daily calls with the project team I am on, catch ups with the project manager and catch ups with 'buddies' in my team. I work on my apprenticeship course daily to learn the knowledge and complete the modules.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
I find my programme interesting, I just do not think my provider is organised. Myself and the other apprentices have been told information countless times which has been incorrect, or we believe to be incorrect as their staff seem to contradict eachother. On the natwest side of things, they have been great and I could not fault them.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
Throughout my apprenticeship so far I have improved on my networking skills. From working in smaller organisations before I never valued just how important networking was, but I now realise how helpful this can be. I network in my day to day job as well as in my apprenticeship with other apprentices.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
Natwest is organised, BPP is not. I don't think BPP staff speak to eachother as all the information someone gives contradicts what someone else does causing much confusion to the apprentices. We have been sent incorrect timetables for our learning, and our tutor who holds webinars never seems to know what stage we are at with our learning which is not helpful.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
A lot. Natwest is great and I can't fault them, my team is great also. I am fully supported by everyone in my team. I really have always felt since the get go that my team were very interested in my development and they would help at any opportunity.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
3/5
As previously mentioned, I don't think BPP are the best. Although our coach seems to be good so far, other than the fact it took 4 weeks to set up a welcome call which in my opinion should be set up on the first week, not 4 weeks into your first module.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
3/5
I definitely think that my qualification learning helps me understand my role a lot more. The only thing I have noticed is that some of the information is quite dated, and it doesn't line up the best with current times according to my team. There are things within the qualification that have helped me make sense of the project work within our organisation better, but I do need our team to explain this in Natwest terms for me.
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
Yes there are. Natwest have a lot of events you can get involved in. Personally I have recently been involved in an apprenticeship networking event within Gogarburn. This allowed apprentices to meet eachother which I thought was really good. It is good to get into the office for something like this rather than it being through zoom.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend NatWest Group to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Natwest is a great place to work, I have already recommended it. I think the job opportunities are brilliant, as is the apprenticeship scheme. I think you are very valued at natwest. It is great that once an apprenticeship is completed you are then guaranteed a job role, starting a potential life long career.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to NatWest Group?
To be open minded and willing to learn. I think for myself especially when applying, I for one knew nothing about which department I would be put into or what I would be doing, I just knew my apprenticeship was in project management. I needed to be willing to learn about the department and what we do, and take every opportunity I was given to do this to expand my learning.
