Sabir’s story

Before joining LTSB, I was on a gap year and was looking for ways to make sure I was developing professionally while preparing for my next step.

I first heard about LTSB through a colleague at work who knew someone who had secured a NatWest apprenticeship and knew I was also looking for an apprenticeship. So, they connected me with LTSB.

I decided to join for two main reasons. Firstly, I wanted to give my gap year some structure. Being consistently exposed to a corporate environment and seeing what my future could potentially look like motivated me throughout my applications. Funnily enough, one of the companies we visited was Schroders, which is where I eventually secured my apprenticeship.

Secondly, I felt I lacked experience in articulating myself during interviews. I was confident in myself generally, but I struggled with things like the STAR technique and explaining the impact of things I had achieved. I realised that by minimising my achievements, I was almost minimising myself. My programme manager, Khalil, played a huge role in helping me overcome this by teaching me how to structure, frame and communicate my experiences effectively.

One of the biggest lessons I took from LTSB was that you have to take ownership of your own career. Nobody is necessarily going to hand you opportunities, but there are people who can help you realise your potential. The support I received from Khalil and Catherine was central to my development. Catherine was always there to motivate me and help me keep going, particularly after putting in a lot of work for an assessment centre and still receiving a rejection. Khalil helped me analyse what went wrong, identify what I could improve, conduct research and keep pushing forward. Being part of a cohort where everyone was going through a similar experience also made a huge difference because we could support and learn from one another.

One of the biggest changes I noticed throughout the programme was the contrast between my first mock interview and my final mock interview at Michael Page. During my first interview, I struggled to answer questions directly, whereas by my final interview, the interviewer actually told me that I was answering his next two questions while answering the current one. That was when I realised how much I had improved and knew I was on the right track.

Another challenge I had to overcome was learning how to balance my naturally jokey personality with professionalism. One piece of feedback I received was that sometimes being too unserious could take away from my intelligence and mean that the jokey side of me was all people would perceive. I learnt that it is important to make a strong first impression, demonstrate your competence and then allow yourself to relax once people understand who you are. I became much more conscious of my words and actions, although to some extent that jokey side is just part of who I am, so I have also accepted that I don’t want to completely lose it.

Khalil made one of the biggest differences for me personally. He even went out of his way during his annual leave to help me prepare for interviews and constantly pushed me to keep working towards my final Schroders interview. He also connected me with a previous apprentice who talked me through their experience, which helped me understand what I needed to do to prepare. Seeing the level of preparation and effort from other candidates also brought out my competitive side and motivated me to push myself further, ultimately helping me secure my apprenticeship.

I really enjoyed being part of my cohort. I still speak to some of them today and genuinely wish them all the best. Having people around you who are in a similar position, who you can learn from and support in return, was incredibly valuable. Looking back, I think LTSB helped me become much more disciplined. On the final day, when you reflect on everything you have done throughout the programme, you really appreciate how much work and consistency went into your development. The skills I have gained include being much more confident with presentations, talking about myself and explaining my achievements, as well as understanding my role within a team and becoming a better team player.

I now feel very confident about my career prospects. I have landed myself in a position that I am really proud of, and I believe there are strong opportunities for progression as I continue developing and eventually become chartered. More importantly, I trust myself to make the best decisions for my career as opportunities develop. I am particularly excited to start my career, learn more about wealth and asset management and gain a broader understanding of the financial industry.

In five years, I hope to be chartered and have made a significant impact within my organisation, becoming a central part of the governance team. My first goal is to use my first 90 days to learn as much as possible about my role and become as competent as I can as quickly as possible.

For another young person in the position I was in, I would say that the competition is insane, so you have to continuously push yourself. Every rejection should be treated as a lesson. You should analyse what went wrong, analyse yourself and make adjustments, then keep repeating that process until you reach your goal. I would also tell them to be shameless, actually talk to people and ask them for help. If you don’t have the audacity to ask, you won’t achieve your goal. As someone I watched on TikTok said, “to get something you never had, you must do something you never did.”