Project Manager Apprentice Review

By the nature of projects, each day-to-day can be very different, depending on what stage a project is up to. Some days can be very meeting heavy, others can be admin heavy. Typically this role involves: going onto site to see projects during construction, collaborative meetings and individual work on the computer.

I am the first (of 2) apprentice to be on this specific programme. I think the managers are incredibly experienced and provide great advice and help throughout. I would like to see a more structured approach to this programme in terms of specific goals. I think that year 1 requires much more oversight as there can be a lack of direct individual work to complete. In year 2 I find that whilst workload definitely increases, there can still be gaps due to project timelines. I would like to see apprentice mentors being far more involved with the apprentices in terms of being able to provide that oversight in earlier years. I would not change the current manager, but rather add in an extra 'mentor' at a lower level and they provide oversight on a more day-to-day basis to provide better organisation and structure for the apprentice. Apprentice -> direct mentor -> portfolio manager.

My line manager provides as much support as they possibly can. Their experience and knowledge is unmatched. They are very hands on when needed. They always attend monthly 1-1 meetings to help development. Day-to-day they are very busy and work incredibly hard - this is where i think apprentices would benefit from more direct support from a mentor. A mentor could be an experienced project manager that can lead the apprentice and provide individual work for them to complete and be closely working with them when they first start to independently lead projects. This mentor could meet with the line manager once a month to discuss progress and make sure they're on track.

My training provider (London Metropolitan College) has had a varied approach to supporting their learners throughout the 3 years. They have never cancelled a lecture or assessment support session. Outside of lectures, I feel there is a lack of communication (email responses), when learners reach out with additional questions. In year 3 they have a much more hand son approach, particularly around the EPA.

I think my university course provides lots of theoretical structures that are very helpful in terms of ways of working and project processes. However, as the course is just project management, they don't teach us anything engineering specific. I feel additional learning that is engineering specific would be very useful to understand site operations and project solutions.

Yes

It is a great place to work, they take care of you really well and the company has great values.