Nina Bharath, awarded Highly Commended Business Analyst Apprentice of the Year at the 2024 BCS IT & Digital Apprenticeship awards, shares her apprenticeship journey.
Award winning business analysis apprentice Nina Bharath talks to us about her role as a Business Analyst at Coventry Building Society, her journey into and through apprenticeship.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and what
you were doing before your apprenticeship?
Before I became an apprentice, I studied Business and
Management at De Montfort University. After graduating, I began
my career at Shell Energy before making the move to mortgages
at Coventry Building Society in 2021. While working there, I heard
about the business analyst role and felt I had the skills to be
able to perform that role well. So when the opportunity became
available, I applied.
Why did you choose an apprenticeship?
I chose to do an apprenticeship as it allowed me to learn and
practise at the same time; I was able to start a new role and
undertake thorough training, while gaining a professional
qualification. It offered the perfect balance of doing and learning;
the programme was spread over 18 months which helped me to
plan out my work and have enough time to complete each module.
I hadn’t really appreciated the value of an apprenticeship when I
was younger. It’s a real job with the chance to gain valuable skills
and qualifications — I only wish I’d taken this leap earlier!
What new skills did you acquire during the
programme, and did you learn anything about
yourself?
I learnt that I’m much more resilient than I at first thought. The
apprenticeship is a fast-paced programme and it takes a lot of
determination to succeed. It comes with setbacks, as do many
things in life, and it’s all about picking yourself up and finding new
ways to complete a task or project. Overall, I think this has made
me a lot stronger and it’s a strength I can now use in my day to day
activities.
Throughout the apprenticeship I also got to connect with lots of other
junior BAs which helped me develop my communication skills.
Communication is such an important part of my job and being
able to develop these skills over the 18 months has benefited me greatly.
I’ve also gained new skills in presenting which was previously
something I’d shy away from if I could. But now I put myself
forward for every opportunity to present, whether it’s to new junior
BAs or my team or the BA community at work.
What support did you receive from your employer and provider during your apprenticeship?
My employer provided me with an ‘in-house’ mentor, and
my training provider, Firebrand, provided me with a mentor too, so I
had lots of support throughout the programme.
My in-house mentor spoke with me weekly, providing me with
sound advice and letting me practise presenting to them. I’m very
grateful for their guidance as it meant I was able to learn from
real-life experiences.
My Firebrand mentor was available to provide information about
the process, show me how the systems worked, and help me
understand the marking criteria. They also spent time reviewing
reports and giving me advice when needed.
Having two mentors was very beneficial — they both supported me
in different ways and gave me a range of perspectives. If I’d have
chosen another route for my apprenticeship, I’d not have had as
much support as I did and for that I will be forever thankful.
What skills do you think a good business analyst
needs to have?
You’ll need a range of skills to make a good business analyst,
including hard and soft skills. Both sets are important for
investigating, documenting and presenting data and information. I
think key hard skills include technical abilities, business process knowledge and writing and documentation. Important soft skills include problem solving and analytics, requirement elicitation, communication and collaboration, presenting, stakeholder management, negotiation, adaptability and flexibility, and organisation.
Is there a particular pathway you’re looking to follow to progress your career?
I love my role as a BA and am currently looking at ways to move
to a senior. Alongside this, I’m helping with the BA Academy at
work, providing help and guidance for others wishing to start their
career as a junior BA. I hope to continue with this as I enjoy being
an advocate for business analysis and BA apprenticeships.
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What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about kickstarting their BA career with an apprenticeship?
My advice would be to go for it! My apprenticeship opened many doors for me; I’ve developed new skills, gained new qualifications, started a new role and made lots of friends along the way. It’s the best decision I ever made and I wish I’d started my journey sooner.
Congratulations on being awarded Highly Commended Business Analyst Apprentice of the Year at the 2024 BCS IT & Digital Apprenticeship awards… what does this mean to you personally?
Honestly, I could not put into words how amazing it felt to receive
the Highly Commended award for Business Analyst Apprentice
of the Year. I was so proud of myself for starting this journey
and choosing to do the apprenticeship. I remember, right at the
start, discussing with my parents whether I was making the right
decision and whether I’d be any good. So to be here now is a great
feeling. I do want to say thank you to everyone who’s supported
me along the way: family, friends and work colleagues. I’m grateful
for the opportunity and I’ll always remember this experience when
I’m ever questioning a decision that I‘m making in the future!
And finally, what’s next for you?
I want to continue my journey in the BA space and see where it
takes me. I’m loving my role and taking on new challenges and
responsibilities to broaden my knowledge, adapt and learn new
skills. I owe a lot to my apprenticeship and am committed to
giving back to the next generation of BAs. The BA Academy, which
our company runs, helps to share knowledge about business
analysis and routes for apprentices. I’ve put myself forward as a
mentor and to run some of the academy sessions, so I can share
my experience and how it’s benefited me, and provide support
and guidance where I can. It’s putting me out of my comfort zone
as mentoring isn’t something I’ve done before, and I’m looking
forward to progressing in this new area.
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