Meet HM Treasury’s Apprentices
We spoke to 5 of HM Treasury’s apprentices to find out what it’s like being an apprentice in a government department.
“Even when you’re finding your feet, the exposure is amazing. I got a real grasp of what the Treasury really is and what it’s about.”
Joshua, 21, from Epsom, is the Assistant Parliamentary Clerk on HM Treasury’s Parliamentary team.
Josh was 18 when he started at the Treasury in August 2012, and had just finished his A-levels. A mother of a classmate had worked on the apprenticeship scheme, and she told him he should think about becoming an apprentice.
“She said: ‘There’s this great apprenticeship, it’s with the government.’ And I said: ‘How much does it pay?’” he recounts.
He passed his first 12 month apprenticeship in 2013 and was offered a permanent role in the Parliamentary team. Just over a year later, the team took on the digitisation of the parliamentary questions (PQs) system.
The project was to convert the former, paper-based system into a web-based digital system which could be used within the Treasury. When the system went live he was then promoted again to his current role.
“It’s clear that if you want to develop you can. Everyone’s supported,” he says.
Michael, 21, is Business Support and PA in the Economics and Fiscal group at HM Treasury.
“I feel comfortable stating new ideas — there’s an emphasis on independent thinking and improving the team as a whole.”
Michael’s day to day job involves being PA to two different senior managers. Having already completed one apprenticeship in retail “essentially training to be an interior designer”, he decided that it wasn’t the right place for him and applied for HM Treasury in 2012.
He’s now on Level 3 of the apprenticeship qualification and intends to complete all levels, hoping to build a long term career in the civil service.
Megan, 21, is a Stakeholder Engagement Co-ordinator and Project Manager in the Government Economic and Social Research unit at HM Treasury.
“My secret talent is that I can spin pizza bases.”
Megan’s journey to the Treasury has been unconventional — 15 months ago she was running a deli in Cornwall. After glandular fever interrupted her A-levels, she started managing a family business, selling homemade pies, quiches and cakes for two years. Then she applied for an apprenticeship in the Treasury and, after passing her first year, moved into her current role.
“The Treasury is a place to grow and shape a rewarding career.”
Megan’s day to day job involves liaising with stakeholders in business and coordinating the meetings for six external boards. It’s “challenging but very rewarding”.
“I’m always keen to get on and just work”
Stephanie, 21, from Essex, is a Briefing and Presentation Assistant on the Strategy, Projects and Budget team at HM Treasury.
She started in Sept 2014 and works directly on some of the documents that make up part of the Treasury’s annual Budget and Autumn Statement.
One of the attractions of the job is being at the heart of Whitehall: “I live quite rurally, so to get any job I’d have to travel. Two hours is a long time but I read quite a lot, and when you come out and Big Ben’s chiming you can’t really compare [with that]”
Having started a degree in Maths, Stephanie left after her first year, realising that it wasn’t working for her and there were other options. “I was surprised at how many [apprenticeships] there were,” she says.
Six months into her 18 month apprenticeship, highlights include being responsible for her own document: “You can find it online, which is brilliant. When it was published I phoned Mum and was like ‘Look at this!’”
George, 17, is an assistant in HM Treasury’s Internal Communications team.
“I think I’m the youngest person in the Treasury.”
George came to the Treasury straight from school without taking A-levels. He started looking for apprenticeships online after his GCSEs.
“I was scrolling through the National Apprenticeships website and I saw HM Treasury come up — I thought ‘I’ve got to apply for that!’”
Although he’s only been with the team a month, he’s already been to No.10 for a meeting and works with teams around the building to update the internal communications site.
The Treasury is currently recruiting for new apprentices. To find out more and search current opportunities visit the National Apprenticeships page on gov.uk.
