Learning & Development Assistant Review

I enjoyed it enormously. It was a brilliant experience and was really hands on. My team were so supportive and welcoming, and really helped me to get to grips with the role. The role itself was really suited to me and helped me to improve my skills and my confidence.

I felt extremely valued. In the beginning, my team always made an extra effort to ensure I felt welcome and supported. They have continued to do so throughout my year. I can see that they trust me to do my job and value my opinion and insight into certain matters.

My manager provided me with brilliant support and guidance. We had monthly catch up meetings specifically for us to discuss any challenges/problems I was facing, and to look at my development also. In between these meetings, I always felt happy and comfortable to speak with my manager about any topic - whether I needed help, advice or just to check something.

My business varied tremendously. Sometimes it could be fairly quiet and I'd be doing desk work, but some days it would be extremely busy and I'd be doing a lot of face to face work. I enjoyed this pattern as it meant I'd have time to re-gather my thoughts and do the mundane jobs when I wasn't so busy.

I was given a lot of responsibility. As I was in charge of the logistics for a couple of training courses we offer, I was involved in sorting the facilitators, the materials, the rooms etc., and then was also in charge of ensuring the event ran smoothly on the day. It was a good level of responsibility, and the support of the team was helpful when I wasn't confident enough in the early days.

I won't be returning to my degree as I have already graduated, but I will definitely take the skills I have learnt with me. I have an increased confidence in presenting in front of people, but also just day to day in speaking with people and making decisions. Although I thought I was good at prioritizing and time-management, I can tell this has improved also.

Generally it was really welcoming and friendly. This could sometimes vary depending on different departments and different strains on my colleagues, but people were always happy to help if they could and open to chatting. This was really important, especially in the early days when you're finding your feet. It helps to know it's ok to approach someone.

For me it was set up fairly well. I didn't go through my university, so I worked with TA to sort the details and they were very helpful. My only concern was, in my role I help to recruit the next year of students, and I feel this process could be improved.

I feel the company invested a lot in me, and they do so for everyone. Working in the L&D department lends itself well as I am surrounded by opportunities and by people who can help to advise me. My team, especially my manager, were always very forthcoming with ensuring I had the training needed, and with offering different courses which could be useful to me.

To me, they are appealing in the sense that I love the company and the culture it has. However, I'd be conscious of other roles/departments purely as I have gotten on so well in L&D, both from a role perspective and a team perspective. I do need to have a look around and learn a bit more about the other opportunities.

There was and there wasn't. It was hard as out of 10 students, 3 commuted to work, including me. This made it a little tricky when trying to organise events outside of work, but we did manage. We also saw each other a fair amount during work, and as a result we get on pretty well. My team have done social things e.g. Christmas dinner, leaving drinks etc., but due to certain dynamics in our team, we probably don't go out socialising as much as other teams.

I didn't live in the area I worked in. I lived about 30 minutes away as this is my home town and I had accommodation already sorted out. The cost of socialising could vary, but it could be expensive as there isn't a huge amount to do all the time, so you'd have to spend money on travelling sometimes.

It was ok. There are some bars which were nice, but nothing much really, which is surprising when there is a university in the centre of the town. I didn't go out a huge amount anyway due to certain dynamics/situations e.g. commuting, living 30 mins away, preferring to do other things etc.

The company is all about volunteering to do things outside of work. I didn't get involved in a huge amount, but got involved in an extra-curricular initiative called BTE. This was a great, albeit challenging experience and has been a contributing factor in helping to improve my skills. I believe there used to be sports teams but not any more.