Eilidh Brown

By the end of school, I realised that university wasn’t for me, so I started researching positions in sales and business where I could learn on the job. Unlike some other companies, Baillie Gifford’s application process was simple. I was very nervous before my interview, but the people were so lovely that it felt more like a relaxed conversation. Making the jump between school and work was daunting, but I’ve had loads of support and been able to take things slowly – it’s never felt rushed.

When we first joined, there was a lot of training on professional skills and the firm. We did ten soft skills courses in total, covering topics like communication, how to speak to clients, networking and assertiveness. We also learnt about the company and investment management. It took me a bit longer to fully understand the financial training, but the people here were always happy to sit down with me and explain things. All the apprentices complete the training courses together. There are six of us in the current intake, and we were put in touch with the previous apprentices too.

My daily role involves on-boarding any new banks and brokers that the Trading team work with and generating reports. The team has 15 people in Edinburgh and two in Hong Kong, but we have a morning meeting every day where we get to see everyone. I’ve been assigned two ‘buddies’, who were promoted to Traders last year and have been handing their tasks over to me. I try to make sure I’m in the office when they are, so I can learn as much as possible from them.

Everyone here is so friendly and it’s very social too. We’ve had team nights out and there was a drinks event for the whole company at the National Museum, where I got to meet some of the graduate trainees. In December I attended a Burns Supper and in May the company will have its annual dinner dance.