Border Force Higher Officer Review
at Home Office
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Legal/Law
Poole, Dorset
Review Submitted: April 2023
Overall Rating
5 /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
5/5
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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 am a recruitment manager for the home office and this involves organising outreach events and managing recruitment campaigns. My day to day tasking involved liaising with vacancy holders, quality assuring job adverts, managing budgets and attending recruitment events around the south of England. Due to working remotely I also chair daily meetings to monitor staff welfare.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
5/5
I really enjoy my apprenticeship programme as it has supported my career development and allowed me to learn how to be an efficient manager. Due to being very junior to line management, the apprenticeship has allowed me to develop and apply my learning to my day to day job role.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
Yes. With this apprenticeship I have had exposure to leadership styles and communication techniques. These have assisted with my managerial role in a huge way. Especially as we often work remotely, having exposure to communication skills allows me to adapt how we communicate accordingly to deal with managing a remote team.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
5/5
The programme is structured very well and it is very well layered to allow for natural development. The staff at Babington are always willing to assist where they can and provide learner support throughout the duration of the apprenticeship. The learning is always very well organised and extremely user friendly.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
My employer has supported me throughout my apprenticeship and allocated me time around my workload to ensure I meet deadlines and complete my tasks set by my apprentice manager. My manager always asks how I am progressing with my apprenticeship and he always ensures I am up to date with my learning.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
5/5
The support from my training provider has been excellent and I always know they are on hand to deal with any queries I may have to support my learning. Nothing is too much trouble for my apprenticeship manager and they always help if I am struggling with any of my work.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
5/5
I feel this qualification has supported my career development and it has assisted to fill any gaps in my managerial skill sets. For example I have never had exposure to project management. So this module as a part of my learning has greatly assisted with my understanding and knowledge on this subject.
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
Unfortunately we do not have exposure to these events directly. However the wider organisation do offer the opportunity to join a sports team. Due to remote working social activities are often sparse. However we do have a lot of opportunity to attend networking events with internal and external stakeholders/ partner agencies
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Home Office to a friend?
Yes
Why?
I would recommend the home office as it has supported my career development from the moment I joined. There are lots of opportunities to train, progress and vast amounts of promotional opportunity. It is very much an organisation where you get out so much from all of the effort that you put in.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Home Office?
I would ensure I adhere to all of the organisations core and moral values. I would join with ambition and an open mind. I would advise people to always say yes to career developmental opportunities and I would practice the online tests before applying. There are usually very fair timeframes to be able to submit an application. So I would ensure the application is of a high standard.
