Funding Development Manager Review
at Civil Service
Higher Level Apprenticeship
Business Operations
Darlington
Review Submitted: May 2023
Overall Rating
2.6 /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!
2/5
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Overview of Role
3/5
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Skills Development
2.4/5
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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:
3/5
The development of funding within the education sector. Providing answers for enquires about funding and T-Level courses from educational institutions. Writing or updating funding guidance for the Department for Education's website. Leading on the project of identifying and then recovering unspent allocations from the 16 to 19 tuition fund.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
1/5
Whilst the classroom sessions were delivered well, it felt you that you were being educated on how to pass an exam rather than teaching you skills you'd need to use in your job. The exam as well was entirely focussed on knowledge that I'll never need or use in my job.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
3/5
I've developed my IT skills particularly on excel as my role requires the use of numerous spreadsheets with multiple formulae and Vlookups in them. I've also gained a greater insight about tuition funding regulations as I've led the project on the recovery of unspent allocations from that fund.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
2/5
The classroom sessions took place on a regular basis and were well delivered, however the invites to these sessions were often not sent until right before the session was due to take place. This resulted in having to cancel or move meetings and other work activities to attend the classroom session.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
I was usually given a dedicated day each week to carry out my apprenticeship work, which my manager always stuck with, sometimes work related issues cropped up which meant I couldn't carry out apprenticeship work that week, but I was given the time later on to catch up with the time. I was also given extra time for exam preparation.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
3/5
Revision sessions provided before the exam to help prepare for it. They also provided sessions on improving my exam techniques and supplied useful mock exam questions. When writing case studies for the the course they could take quite some time to be marked, so I was never quite sure where I was with which case studies I still had to do.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
1/5
I didn't find the course helpful at all for my job. It seemed geared towards giving you the knowledge to pass an exam but didn't provide me with anything which I would use on a day to day basis in my job, even when managing a project.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
1/5
There are some social activities such as national sports day but these are limited and not very advertised so you have to specifically look for it and then you won't know who else is going. Within my home office there seems to be no social events though. There are a few away days each year to network with other people but these are also limited.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Civil Service to a friend?
Yes
Why?
It's a stable secure job with good terms and conditions with the bonus of flexi time and additional leave after a certain length of service. It also has acceptable rate of pay. There are plenty of opportunities for promotion and development and moving between roles. In my role you can work in a way that suits you best and management isn't too hands on.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Civil Service?
Look for roles which you want and which suit your skills rather than applying for any role within the civil service, including if you're looking for promotion. The application forms and interviews will be based around competency examples, so look to develop these a view of being able to answer follow up questions based on the examples you've used.
