EY Business Academy Student Review

I was part of financial services and within this I was specializing in the banking area. I was working with a team on site of a client where I assisted in controls testing. I undertook many daily tasks as if I was part of the team. I interacted daily with employees from the firm and found out about their roles and how they got into them. I have been working on a presentation all week on the client that I had been assigned. whilst completing this presentation I also had many responsibilities in regards to working on my client too.

I have developed my skills and further enhanced my employability skills. The skills I have accrued this week are transferable and will aid me in the future. There have been a plethora of internal training courses and professional skills sessions that I have taken on and will be useful. I have gained both networking skills and technological skills through both online sessions and speaking with various employees within the firm

I thoroughly enjoyed my programme, I was fortunate enough to be part of such a great team who were so supportive and further made my week even more enjoyable. The Business Academy met my expectations and more - the whole week exceeded my expectations and was even more enjoyable and informative than I expected.

Throughout the week I felt like a valued member of the team and my work was recognized by both my buddy, counsellor and the rest of the team. I was involved in many tasks and projects in regards to my client, I was valued and was trusted with work that was published to the client (for example through canvas). I gained hands-on experience and was seen as a valued member of the team

The programme was organized thoroughly, lots of thought and planning went into the whole scheme. We were given a detailed timetable at the beginning of the week which outlined exactly what we were doing. There was various training sessions for both systems internally within the company and how we can present ourselves in a professional manner following the completion of the week. There was a plethora of various different training sessions run by the student recruitment team which were very interesting and engaging. Tasks were delegated accordingly and there was ample time delegated to complete my presentation.

I received a vast amount of various support from both my buddy and my counsellor. My buddy showed me the different ways in which to contact him if I needed any assistance if he was not around and guided me with all the information I required for both the tasks I needed to complete and queries in relation to the business academy. I enjoyed this support as I felt open that I could approach either my counsellor or buddy if I ever needed, this was extremely helpful

I received a vast amount of support from the employer. For example, there were regular emails sent out from members of the student recruitment team and this team organized a virtual learning session for every day at the academy. Throughout all of the training sessions they were supportive and reinforced that if we required anything that we could contact them, this was helpful as when I had to ask for a copy of a PowerPoint during the week I felt as if I could approach them.

I was happy to complete this experience unpaid due to the amount that I got out of this. However, the salary that was provided to us was the right amount to cover travel and accommodation costs for the week and was very generous as it exceed the minimum wage requirement for our age group

Following learning about the company, I now have knowledge around the different communities within EY. As my experience was only for a week I unfortunately did not have a chance to participate in any of these activities. However, the company did set up many lunches in which we could network with different employees within the company.

Yes

I would recommend EY to a friend as there are so many opportunities within the firm and all the employees that I have encountered are all approachable and professional. The atmosphere is very welcoming and there are always people around to help you

I would say: - Take on any sort of experience that you can so you get a feel for the company - Read up around the business before applying for any posts or going through to an interview process