Hello, I’m Esme Roberts, a current level 3 data analyst apprentice at HSBC. I have worked at HSBC for just over a year and I am now nearing the end of my foundation level apprenticeship, after taking an “untraditional” route to begin my career.

New Beginnings

At 16, after completing my GCSE’s, the thought of completing another 2 years of A levels didn’t sound particularly appealing to me, so I began to explore alternative options. As I began to look at potential routes, I came across more well know paths such as college or doing BTEC's, but as I explored deeper, I came across apprenticeships. Apprenticeships were a new concept to me as I had never taken much notice of them before as I wasn’t aware that there are different levels of apprenticeships available.

As I began to read into the route of apprenticeships more, they became increasingly appealing to me. On the job experience, a focused learning curriculum, and financial independents are all benefits that really resonated with me. I came to the conclusion that a level 3 apprenticeship was the pathway I wanted to take as it’s an equivalent qualification to A levels. So, I began my search…

Resilience

Every day I would check on the government website to see if any new apprenticeships had been posted. I applied to lots of apprenticeships, many I would not even hear a response from. Until one day I got a response and was invited to attend an assessment centre. After a long process I got through to the interview stage, but sadly didn’t get an offer. So, the search continued!

Although I was a little disheartened that I didn’t receive an offer, this only built my resilience and made me more motivated to continue my search. After a few weeks of taking in the feedback I received from the interview I had, I took another look to see if any more apprenticeships had been uploaded to the website. To my surprise, I saw that a level 3 apprenticeship with HSBC had been posted. I had never considered a career in the financial sector before and had always been drawn more towards a business administration type role. However, after doing some research I realised that HSBC sounded like the kind of place I had been looking for. I decided to take the leap of faith and apply.

I knew how competitive apprenticeship schemes could be so I didn’t have much hope that I would be successful. But, after a lengthy process consisting of job simulators, assessments and interviews I received the news I had been hoping for… I got an offer! I can't begin to explain how surreal that moment felt, all my hard work and drive had paid off.

Diving into the deep end

January 15^th 2024, marked my first day as an apprentice at HSBC. I remember how nervous I was on that first day going into an environment that was so unfamiliar to me, a feeling I’m sure everyone experiences on their first day. However, this feeling passed once I met my team and the other apprentices within my cohort.

Since beginning my apprenticeship, over a year ago, I have grown not only professionally but also personally. I have seen and felt my confidence grow and see myself embarking on projects I would have never thought I was capable of before I began. Such as, becoming an early careers ambassador which, has given me the opportunity to speak to young people still in education and help them to explore the route of apprenticeships. This opportunity has built my confidence and public speaking skills. Recently, I have even had the opportunity to revisit my secondary school to speak to year 12 students about work experience available at HSBC. I’m so grateful for moments like this as I know that an event such as this is something that would have really helped me discover more about available options as a school leaver.

Additionally, I have picked up an abundance of professional skills during my apprenticeship so far. Some key skills I have learnt are Microsoft Excel, Power BI, and Power query, all of which have helped me become more efficient when completing tasks. Furthermore, I’m currently learning the basics of python (coding language), this is something I never would have thought I would be capable of before my apprenticeship as I don’t see myself as a very technical person.

Reflecting

As I reflect on the start of my career, I’m so grateful of the opportunities I have had. It is crazy to think that at 18 I already have over a years’ experience, due to taking the apprenticeship route. I’m excited to see what the future holds for my career and I hope that I can continue to help young people learn about apprenticeships at the same time!

Esme Roberts

Data Analyst (RC, AI and Analytics) at HSBC

You can find out more and connect with Esme on LinkedIn.