Apprenticeship Stories with Jim Shed, Compliance Apprentice

I’m a Compliance Apprentice here at LendInvest. I’m currently working towards completing the International Advanced Certificate in Regulatory Compliance course. Once I’ve completed this, I’ll continue studying for my Compliance and Risk Officer Apprenticeship Level 3. I joined LendInvest in July 2022 and began my studies in September 2022. Starting at LendInvest before starting my apprenticeship course gave me the chance to settle in and familiarise myself with the business before beginning my studies. 

Before I joined LendInvest, I was in sixth form working towards my A levels in Business, Finance and Criminology. Whilst completing my exams, I started to think about what I wanted to do in the future and that was when I discovered this role at LendInvest. Although university seemed appealing, I felt an apprenticeship would give me the perfect stepping stone into work once I finished school. 

My role is very varied. Some of the key responsibilities that I have include: provisioning support to my first line colleagues with any queries that they may have, such as financial crime; supporting the Capital Markets teams with external due diligence requests; providing training to my colleagues to allow them to better implement any regular developments and helping my team to complete Compliance Monitoring reviews.

I personally have found balancing my studies with my day-to-day work fairly simple. My team is very supportive and allows me to take extra time to complete my studies if I need it. Our Learning and Development Manager at LendInvest also provides me with the full support and guidance I need to successfully complete my studies.

I would highly recommend the apprenticeship route to anyone who is finishing at sixth form as I believe it’s a great way to break into an industry. You gain hands-on experience and are able to build strong relationships with those who you work closely with. My key piece of advice would be to make the most of the opportunity by getting to know as many people as possible and be as enthusiastic and proactive as you can be!