pensions administration apprentice Review

As part of the pension admin team, i had to complete a certain number of tasks a day which had been allocated to me. Tasks i completed involved: setting up pension benefits to be paid annually ect, sending out retirement illustrations, answering basic queries...
As one of the apprentices, you are responsible for dealing with the incoming post which is organised by a rota.
You have various meetings each month which relate to your apprenticeship. For example, talking about new assignments that are set and past ones that you have completed. You also have meetings to discuss the professional qualification you complete about a quarter of the way through the apprenticeship. The assignments were fairly straight forward although the instructions were unclear at some points.
Organised training is limited and it quickly becomes your responsibility to ask for this yourself as in my experience there wasnt much of a 'structure' with training. You are allocated more complex tasks and have to ask colleagues for help and do fast-paced deskside training. This can help with independence but can become stressful if there are high work volumes due to the lack of time available on team as the task stays with you until you complete it meaning it could go over the deadline.

I personally think the structure of the programme was okay, the milestones to hit throughout the duration of the apprenticeship were clear and the monthly meetings helped to keep me on track.
The organisation is also okay, you are given one half day a week to complete coursework and apprenticeship related work although, taking the full half day can be difficult when tasks are still in your queue during study time and i found the balance of both the coursework and day to day work more difficult as time went on.
Taking on extra responsibilities on team increases the pressure and it becomes harder to meet the expectations from all parties.

At the start, I received beneficial support from some people, although only as it was asked for on multiple occasions.
I think the intention to support apprentices is there on some teams but the lack of time and staff on other teams can sometimes prevent support being given to those who need it most. I think some people are pushed aside at some points for others who are well liked. I would describe it as a sink or swim type of environment at some points.
However, i did end up receiving lots of support from one colleague in the end which helped me to do well and supported me in training.

I had meetings with the training provider where we discussed my progress. I think the support was good.

I think the information you learn is highly beneficial in the role as it helps to expand your knowledge which makes the job itself easier when you feel more confident in what you are doing.

Yes

I would recommend to a friend if they wanted to learn about the industry. Unsure if i would recommend on certain other aspects.