Our apprenticeship programme is designed to give you practical experience and knowledge of our work at NFU Mutual, while you gain a professional qualification. It’s hard work, but it’s incredibly rewarding. Here, Matthew McHale, who joined the Level 3 Claims apprenticeship in our Large Corporate Claims team, talks about his experience of the programme during the Covid 19 pandemic.

When I left school, the apprenticeship route appealed to me because I liked the idea of learning something new every day while earning a wage. I also wanted to gain new skills and expertise that would help me to gain future roles or careers.

As part of my apprenticeship, I work in the Large Corporate Claims team at NFU Mutual, with different roles such as dealing with claims and activities. This involves completing claims to a high standard, within the limits of my authority, and doing everything possible to progress the claim forward. At the same time, I also try to give our customers a quality service by updating them on the status of their claims whenever possible.

Getting started in a lockdown
Starting a new job can be a challenge at the best of times, and joining NFU Mutual during the Covid 19 pandemic made it even more challenging. But the onboarding for me was excellent, considering the circumstances. I was able to learn about the basics of my role within a week and my manager took me and the other apprentices around the different departments, showing us how it all fits together.

We were also taught how to work in the office and at home, so if another lockdown occurred, we could adapt quickly. And the company even gave us all the equipment we’d need to work from home, such as monitors and keyboards.

Always learning
My placement manager was fantastic when I first started at NFU Mutual – showing me the ropes and getting me set up on all the systems. And my line manager’s always been there for me, helping me to improve in different areas and integrating me into my team.

Alongside my work in the team, I’m also working towards my professional qualification, as part of the apprenticeship. This involves completing a range of training tasks and assessments and I work closely with my trainer, who helps me to gain all the knowledge and skills to become a competent claims handler.

If you’d like to follow in the footsteps of apprentices like Matthew, check out our apprenticeship opportunities and take that first, all-important step towards a successful, rewarding career.