Profile: Alexandra, Global Investment Research Division

The following article was written by Alexandra, a team assistant in our Global Investment Research Division in London, who talks about her path to joining the firm after having completed an apprenticeship at Goldman Sachs.

Prior to Goldman Sachs I had completed my GCSEs and AS Levels and I worked at a fast-food restaurant throughout my school years where I enjoyed the high pressure and pace.

Whilst studying I also completed a Level 2 apprenticeship in hospitality and catering which is what sparked my interest in apprenticeships.

Once I had been chosen as an apprentice for Goldman Sachs I was placed in the Management and Admin team with in the Global Investment Research Division. This involved a mixture of responsibilities such as the organisation and tracking of client events across the department, people and space management and general administration such as diary management, production and formatting of presentations and taking meeting minutes. I felt this role was extremely interesting as I developed a good understanding of how the department worked as a whole and the challenges faced when managing the processes deployed across the division.

Initially during the programme I worked 4 days in the office, Monday to Thursday and then every Friday I would go to Hackney College and work on my business administration qualification. Halfway through the programme I starting working full-time at Goldman Sachs and completed the rest of the qualification in my own time. I received a lot of support from the college; I had a designated assessor who was there to answer any questions I had and to help me through my qualification. My mentor and buddy were employees at Goldman Sachs and also a great help during my apprenticeship allowing me to voice any concerns or questions I had throughout the process or recommend someone they felt I would benefit from talking to.

My new role after finishing my apprenticeship is a Team Assistant, still within the Global Investment Research division. I cover two sector teams, as well as the Co-Director of European Equity Research. My role can be very demanding and requires me to be extremely organised and flexible with in my daily routine.

This experience has allowed me to completely broaden my career prospects for the future without taking the conventional path through university, and also allowed me to earn a wage whilst studying. It gave me an insight into an extremely interesting industry, a year of invaluable work experience, which led to further employment, whilst gaining a qualification in the process. I particularly benefitted from this route as I have always suited a working environment and it allowed me to follow that path whilst remaining in education.