Trainee Review

On a daily or weekly basis my work can change depening on who i am working with. On the programme i do a variety of work which i was quite pleased about but some was a bit more boring than others but i expected this! I work as an auditor within EY's Real Estate, Hospitality and Construction department. In my first year I have been given the tasks of testing certain balances within companies financial statements and helping out my executives and managers with jobs they need doing.

So far I have completed my first 2 exams of my CFAB exams as well as completing many of EY's internail training programmes such as money laundering and internet security. I have learnt the basics of accounting and continue to put this into practice each day at work. I hope to increase my knowledge in the future from working at EY as i think they have a lot to offer myself and young people so this really excites me and keeps me motivated to work.

I really enjoy the EY School Leaver programme overall and i would rate it very high and definitely reccomend it to anyone of a similar age who had perhaps just left school. The teams I work with are really friendly and have been great in helping me understand accounting and other areas of business further. The company culture is great and being able to work flexibly allows me to attend and commitments I have and enjoy a work/ social life balance.

I originally thought that working within such a large organisation might make me feel slightly insignificant however managers and people higher up in the department really make the effort to get to know staff lower down and to make sure we receive recognition and appreciation for the work we do. The perks and benefits EY offer make me feel very valued and appreciated. I get feedback from some staff members, most of it really good and positive and some less so which are just to help me grow within the business which i am also thankful for.

I feel the programme is well structured. The induction had been carefully planned to make sure we were ready for our first days in the office and being assigned a buddy prior to starting was really useful as was able to discuss all the questions I had with her before. The training at college is to a high level and managers are very supportive around exam time to make sure you have time in the evenings to study and and prepare. I would definitely say the structure is better than what i initially expected though anyway.

I received a high level of support from my training provider which i am very pleased about. My tutor at college was more then happy to sit with any of us afterwards to go through any questions which we had and even after we had finsih at college they were great at scheduling times for us to go and see them if we wished. We could always email our tutors as well when we were at work and not the training site so we could have questions and queries answered during the week instead of waiting to go back the next week.

I received a high level of support from my employer as well during exam time and i was happy as i think i definitely needed this! When not assigned to a client/ when possible my manager allowed me to revise to prepare for the exams as well as allowing my study leave and even offered to help with any questions or areas which I was struggling with. I was very grateful overall and i thanked my supervisor and boss for their support they gave me.

Living in London is more expensive then other cities and the London salary is increased to match this. I am able to afford to live in a nice flat with another colleague and still be able to live and enjoy a social life comfortably. I think that the company takes into account the higher costs of living in a large city such as london as the wages reflect this. I think the wage is lower for the same scheme in different parts of the UK but also the cost of living and general expenses will be a lot less as well.

There are always lots of department events and EY events outside of work to attend and you are able to have different choices and are not forced or feel pressured to go to any event either but the option is there. They also offer paid leave for volunatry days and plenty of sports clubs to join in with. When I am not working I like to exercise either in the gym or out running and also spend time with my friends exploring London and going to the many different shops, cafe's, restaurants and areas to go too.

Yes

Definitely would reccomend! I would recommend EY to a friend because they are a great firm to work for. The benefits and work life they offer are to a high quality and there are lots of great people to work along side with who make the day enjoyable. They also offer a structured training programme and have been overly helpful in helping me to complete my exams to become a qualified accountant. I think that overall the experience you get out of it is second to none and also you will be sure to have a good time in the company and meet a lot of new people too who help you along the way.

I would advise anyone applying to EY to make sure they reseach into company first and ask lots of questions to make sure that EY is the right choice for them as it shows you fully understand the job and what is expected of you and what you can expect to get from the business and the scheme they have to offer. I would recommend attending a recruitment event as well as speaking to people face to face helps you to find out a lot more about the company and what they have to offer.