How do you feel about your win? 

I’m proud to win the award, and grateful to my line manager for nominating me. I am not used to being in the limelight, but it has been nice to have these conversations about the apprenticeship route and my experience. 

How did you discover Business Analysis?

I worked as a Police Officer for three years, then worked in residential surveying and valuing as a digital valuer in a project support role, which had lots of work around digitising processes. In both jobs I was interested in why things were done the way they were, and asked questions about processes. I found that either my questions were not being addressed or there was a separate team to manage processes.

I once supported a BA to ‘walk through’ a process, and I found out that business analysis is about asking questions, investigating things, looking for solutions. Once I understood the BA role, I realised it was for me. I saw where I could apply the skills I had gained from my time in the Police – like communication, seeing different perspectives and stakeholder engagement.  

I looked at Business Analyst job adverts and found out about BA Apprenticeships, which I never knew existed. It was a step back in terms of pay and felt like starting again, but it offered a chance to learn while working which appealed to me. I applied to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and was accepted as a BA Apprentice.  

How did your apprenticeship work out for you, and for your employer?

I would absolutely recommend the BA Apprenticeship. I don’t think I realised how much I’d be able to achieve in such a short space of time. I thought of it as a beginner’s level and that it would take the full term of the apprenticeship to progress, but during my apprenticeship with DWP I was promoted and became an almost fully-fledged BA.

After being promoted I was working in a more technical area, so they were able to put me to good use. To meet the BA Apprenticeship criteria, you need experience in different areas and DWP were able to move me around different projects. It worked out well for them, and for me. 

Were there any challenges along the way, and how did you overcome them? 

The Portfolio that needs to be completed for the BA Apprenticeship is a huge piece of work and takes at least twelve months. It felt daunting at the start, and at the end when I was reading back through it all. My mentor Kate at AssistKD helped me to validate my thinking and talk through things. I used her as a sounding board.  

The second challenge was to find the right tasks to meet the apprenticeship criteria. You must think ahead to make sure you have exposure to the tasks. I found communicating with the relevant people regularly and asking for what I needed helped. It’s part of the apprenticeship, to take charge of your own progression, identify the gaps and fill them.  

You gained a distinction in your International Diploma... how did you find studying alongside working?

I structured my learning into one dedicated day per week, where I focused on the apprenticeship. Sometimes I studied in my own time whenever I wanted to put extra effort in.  It was hard because when I was doing my day job, I was sometimes thinking about the apprenticeship and vice versa. Having the flexibility to prioritise where needed was a massive benefit.  

You mentioned AssistKD (and your mentor Kate Biddle) when you posted about winning. How did the mentoring aspect work for you? 

Having both the group sessions with my mentor and the one-to-ones was beneficial. In the group sessions it was useful to get the perspective of other apprentices. Kate supported us as we directed the sessions, bringing our problems or specific topics we wanted to look at and going through them. In the one-to-ones I was able to be honest and vulnerable about the challenges. Kate as a mentor was personable and the sessions didn’t feel forced or formal, they were always productive. She played a huge role. 

Were there any specific instances that stand out where you were able to directly apply what you learned? 

I would say the investigation techniques – specifically workshops. When a workshop went very well, I was glad I’d used the techniques I’d learnt like thinking ahead, planning the agenda, and the facilitation skills, using ice-breaker exercises, round robins and so on. The Business Process Modelling course transformed how I approached the modelling, it made it so much easier and clearer. 

Were there any other lightbulb moments during your apprenticeship? 

I remember I was asked to do a solution driven piece of work, and I asked the question: “What’s the problem that this is solving?” My line manager said: “You’ve got it. You flipped the conversation and approached it from the right perspective.” When they said that I thought: “Maybe I do know how to be a BA!” 

What’s next for you? 

In next 3-5 years I'd like to move into a Senior BA role, working at a more strategic level. I am also interested in the Business Architecture side of things. 

What advice would you give anyone setting out on a BA Apprenticeship? 

I’d say that it is OK not to know everything. The point of the BA Apprenticeship is to learn as you go along with support, it is OK to get things wrong and you can ‘fail safely’. You will learn through experience, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. When you are in a group situation with other apprentices don't compare yourself to where others are in their apprenticeship, it’s not a race and it’s not directly comparable.  

Work on your skills! In our BA community I’ve been trying to put myself forward to present things, so I can get used to presenting. Understanding requirements engineering and learning about stakeholder engagement are important for the BA role. I am interested in the user perspective and have taken a Business Service Design course as I know there is a crossover between Business Analysis and Service Design.