360 Apprentice Review

I am a 360 Apprentice, currently working in the Small Business Accounting department. My role is to be a client advisor and undertake a variety of roles on behalf of the team. I am also in charge of the direct line for the department therefore I deal with client calls regularly on a daily basis as well as internal matters. I deal with the onboarding of clients and services as well as gathering the required information for this. Last week I was at the Excel Business Show for start-ups where I ran a master class with one of my colleagues. Tomorrow I will be going to Glasgow to meet the other part of my team, therefore I have a lot of variety within my current role.

Yes I am currently studying towards the AAT Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting and have already achieved my Level 3 qualification. I have developed dramatically with regards to my networking and communication skills due to speaking on the phone to clients for a large part of the day and attending social networking events. I have also developed on my presentation skills since joining the programme as I have had the oppourtubity to present at both internal and external events.

For the past few months I have woke up in the mornings feeling motivated and excited about work therefore I would say I enjoy my programme very much. My current team has a very open and relaxed culture, everyone is friendly and willing to help others develop which is a benefit as my business skills have improved since joining. The company overall has a very welcoming atmosphere and I have enjoyed the majority of the teams which I have rotated into as I feel that this culture is consistent throughout the different departments.

With regards to the recognition I receive from my team I definitely feel valued as they are constantly reminding me of how great a help I have been to them. They also include me in all of the team events therefore making me feel part of something and inclusive. However overall by the management of the 360 team I believe that this individual recognition can be over looked due to the extensive number of apprentices within the company. The apprentice's who have usually been recognised for their effort have worked on a large event/client, whereas those who work on smaller tasks may not be recognised as much.

The programme overall is very well organised - one of the only downfalls was that when I initially joined we were not supposed to be studying for the first year however they then sprung on us that we would actually be doing Level 3. In hindsight I believe that this was a good decision made on behalf of the management however it was not highlighted until fairly close to the course they had booked us on. The induction was a good start to the programme however it did last a full week which in some ways could have been shortened.

I have never really used the AAT training providers for additional support except for learning the content of the course during college.

during my first year I received a lot of support from my performance manager however since entering the second year I feel that the level of support required is not quite as extensive. In addition to this I don't feel that my current performance manager would be able to provide me with the support I would require compared to my previous PM.

I currently live at home with my parents therefore I do not have any living costs. Within my package I have a lunch allowance of £3.20 to spend per day which I rarely exceed. Compared to some of my fellow apprentices I have saved up a fair amount of my salary, this is because I do not go out on the weekend quite as much as some of them therefore I do not have as many social costs or I am more wise about how I spend it. My package definitely meets my current costs of living etc.

There are a whole load of both internal and external events which employees are invited to, for example we were provided with the opportunity to go back to our sixth forms and college's to speak about our apprenticeship and promote the fact that there are other options other than University for current students. KPMG are very supportive of any volunteering activities as well as internal clubs. I have not yet signed up to a club but may consider doing so shortly. There are a lot of internal training classes which we are able to sign ourselves up to e.g. CPR training.

Yes

Because it is a very enjoyable work place as not as corporate as people believe. The majority of employees I have ever spoken to, whether that is because I worked with them or we had a chat in the lift, are very open and friendly. Therefore that makes for a great working environment. There are a lot of benefits included in our salary package which is a benefit for a young person like me. In addition to this, working for such a large firm provides far more opportunities than a local firm for example an internal event at KPMG could consist of one department with over 200 people in it whereas a small firm might not even have 200 staff firm wide.

I would have liked to of been told to ignore the corporate stereotype of the 'Big 4'. This is because within KPMG it really isn't corporate feeling due to the large range of employees we have. I would suggest that if someone were to apply to KPMG that they honestly just be themselves and that the interviewer would probably prefer it if you were able to have a laugh with them as it shows they have a personal friendly side to them. I would also suggest having some questions ready to ask the interviewer as this really helps to show that you have done some research and are interested in what the company does.