Fixed Income Trainee Review
at abrdn
School Leaver Programme
Finance
Edinburgh
Review Submitted: May 2022
Overall Rating
4.9 /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!
5/5
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Overview of Role
5/5
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Skills Development
4.8/5
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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
I work in a team of portfolio analysts so my day to day work revolves around a lot of data. We work off a team mailbox where requests will come in for various different things, like fund or benchmark analytics, the creation of certain reports etc. I also help to keep internal some databases up to date
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
5/5
I enjoy the programme a lot. I enjoy the responsibility i am given at such a young age and i feel like i am treated as an adult. I enjoy the work i am given as throughout my time in school i enjoyed maths and i am able to use my maths skills a lot in this role.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
I have learnt a vast amount since the start of my traineeship, whether that has been through my apprenticeship qualification or the additional qualification i choose to do as well or just in my day to day work. I have definitely improved my communication skills and also my analytical skills and even just my knowledge of markets and investments
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
5/5
The programme is pretty well structured. At the start we had a two day induction over zoom just to get us started and since then we have had various different training sessions to help us continue learning. There is a lot of support as well as we have an early careers team who are always happy to answer any questions
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
I receive a lot of report from my manager but i also had a buddy assigned to me at the start of the trainee programme who is there for support as well, usually for the more "silly" questions. I haven't really had much contact with the HR team but the support is on offer if needed
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
5/5
I receive a lot of support from my training provider. We have a call every month to catch up and go over work i have submitted and work that will need to be submitted in the near future. Also through BUD i am able to contact my trainer and this is very easy to access. My trainer seems to have a great attitude towards supporting me with my learning.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
5/5
Some of what i learn in my qualification. At the start of the qualification i picked certain topics that were most applicable to my job so although it is not fully tailored to what i do on a day to day basis most of what i learn applies is some way or another.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
There are a lot of extra-curricular activities to get involved in at work. For starters we have NextGen programme which is a sort of a professional networking event for the younger people working at the company. There are also occasional social events that are set up through investment 20/20.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend abrdn to a friend?
Yes
Why?
There are many pros to working at abrn, you get a great starting salary, a great pension scheme (i know this is for well in the future but it's good to start early) From my experience everyone at the company seems to be very keen to help you especially when you are so early on in your career, so overall i'd say its a great place to work
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to abrdn?
For starters make sure you have a good CV, make sure it's laid out well and is easy to follow as quite a lot of applicants were rejected just because of there CV. For the interview process the key for me was to just practice as many interview questions as I could. Lastly once you've got the job i would say take any opportunities that come your way as it all adds to your experience
