Graduate Trainee - Strategic Planning Review

I have had an amazing experience on my TfL Graduate Scheme so far. There is a huge, welcoming community of graduates, apprentices and interns which host great events to help us grow in our roles and network with colleagues. The colleagues I have interacted with across TfL have all embodied the values of open, caring and adaptable, it is such a lovely place to work. I am growing a range of skills that will help me to excel in my career and I really enjoy coming to work each day.

My first placement was in Local Communities and Partnerships, and I really enjoyed being able to take on work across the functions of the team to develop a range of skills. I was involved in letter drops, website updates, analysing consultation responses, briefings for senior staff, organising events and attending meetings with our stakeholders. I enjoyed being so closely connected to the communities that use our services every day and being able to hear the changes they want to make. There was also so many training opportunities on offer to support this role, including video training and writing guidance.
My second placement is in Strategic Analysis, where I analyse data and work with the transport model. I enjoy the community within the team and being able to delve into the data which supports our decision-making as an organisation. I am partway through this placement, so cannot provide too much detail at this stage, but I am also really enjoying this role. I love the range of technical skills that I can grow in this team and learning more about data interpretation and presentation.

I feel that the work I am doing, in both my first and second placements, is valuable to the organisation. I feel that the work is challenging and stretching, but that I have the support to complete it well. There is a strong feedback and recognition culture, so I feel that my work is recognised and valued by the team and more widely.

We have free travel on TfL services which is a huge perk of the job. There are also a range of savings available to us, for example on Eurostar.

Given the flexibility of my scheme, we can choose from a range of placements to support the skills we want to develop most. I feel like a valued, trusted member of the team and I am given challenging work to stretch and develop my skills. My colleagues are always willing to support me and provide guidance to ensure that I am getting good feedback and progressing well. I feel that I am being set up very well for my future career.

I receive excellent support throughout my scheme. I have a mentor, scheme sponsor, line manager, buddy and development advisor which all allow me to grow and shape my career. I feel that I always have someone to go to and that the scheme is structured very well.

My work-life balance is generally very good, I have always been encouraged to work my hours and there is lots of flexibility around appointments and other life events. There is a strong hybrid working culture. Due to experiences before starting at TfL, I sometimes find transitioning out of work challenging, but I am very well supported within work and there are a range of resources available to me within TfL which are helping to improve this. My manager and sponsor have been incredibly supportive with this and always encourage a healthy work-life balance.

The organisational culture is incredibly positive, inclusive and welcoming and there is a strong emphasis on flexible working and hybrid working. I cannot imagine a more supportive place to work.

Equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility are incredibly important to TfL and it is evident through their strategy to support this, training offered to staff and people groups within teams to champion these at a local level. Even in meetings, there is always a designated opportunity to raise anything related to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.

Yes

I cannot imagine a more supportive place to work.

If anything, the scheme has exceeded my expectations for what I thought it would be like. I did not expect the range of placements on offer or how strong the graduate, apprentice and intern community would be.