Hi Sam. I hope you are doing well. I've received an assessment centre invite for data analyst apprenticeship, any tips?

Hi Safna,

First of all, congratulations on getting to the assessment centre! You've done an amazing job to get this far, and I wish you all the best in landing an apprenticeship.

As I'm on a sustainability graduate scheme, I can't comment directly on the apprenticeship assessment centre process since I haven't experienced it myself. However, I hope you'll find some of my experiences in my current data and reporting insights role useful.

This role was new to me, so I've had to become proficient in Microsoft's Power Platform, specifically Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate. Our business relies heavily on Power BI reports, which are used extensively to provide management with MI, work more efficiently, and identify new growth opportunities. Any budding data analyst should at least be aware of Power BI or watch a few free videos on YouTube to understand how it works and its benefits to businesses.

Power Apps is becoming increasingly popular in our business as it allows colleagues to build apps that automate tedious manual processes like getting updates or form filling. It's making huge waves in my department (Risk & Controls) and is a lot of fun to use. Power Apps is particularly useful in bringing together all the elements of Microsoft's Power Platform, allowing you to present reports (Power BI), collect data (SharePoint Lists), and automate processes (Power Automate). Again, check out YouTube for free videos on Power Apps to understand its benefits for large businesses. It's also been my experience that aesthetically pleasing apps tend to get a lot of buy-in! People want to use your apps if they look good, so don't discount aesthetics, although functionality is paramount too.

Power Automate is a nifty tool that allows you to automate various processes like regular emails, copying data from one source to another, or refreshing reports. All these tools are very much interlinked, and knowledge of these three programs would set you in good stead.

More general advice I'd give based on my assessment centre experience is to make sure you know the company's values inside and out and use them as a framework for thinking about the types of answers you'd give. Be cooperative in any group exercises and don't see concession as defeat. Compromise is key to success and working in a healthy team. Also, brush up on any big LBG stories, such as the launch of our ready-made pensions and investments and our women in retirement report. This background context will help put you at ease on the day and give you the information to talk comfortably about the business.

Additionally, try to understand what our different brands do, although focus on the one your apprenticeship is centred on. Having a holistic understanding of the business will help you understand what tools we have to deliver on our mission to help Britain prosper.

Hope this helps & good luck!

Sam 😊