Smart Futures Review

The Smart Futures programme was very fun. It involved many interactive tasks with other students my age and also a week of business experience in a particular sector. Within this, I took on a responsibility to work with the people in the office and assist them with their job. It was a good experience because you actually get work experience and real skills rather than doing nothing.

Some skills I developed were my confidence, presentation and time management skills. I did this through numerous presentation activities and planning under timed conditions. I also improved my team leadership skills through the completion of the CMI level 2 qualification. This was a very useful thing to gain in the process and i am glad i now have that qualification.

I enjoyed the programme very much. It was fun to interact with new like minded people my age that I didn't previously know before the programme. The tasks were all also very interactive and fun to take part in; you are always doing something productive. The speakers were also very interactive and entertaining which meant the day didn't drag on.

I think everyone on the EY Smart Futures feels valued by EY and EY Foundation; at no point are people on the programme undermined. We are seen as people of the future and young talent, which people often referred to us as. A lot of employees at EY believe we are on root for a good future.

Each day of the programme has a very clear and timed structure. Everyone knows what they are doing throughout the day and a delay is very rare. However, during the work shadowing i was sometimes left without work, which wasn't ideal and could have been a bit more organized with tasks.

if we ever need any help or support with a task we can easily approach them and they are always willing to help.

I received a lot of help; i often needed to ask questions. When i had a query about any research or anything to do with excel. They understand that we are not familiar with that style of work and we do not have the knowledge that they have in their section.

The salary was good enough considering it is just a 3 week programme for 17 year olds.

We had the chance to meet lots of different people in EY and network with lots of people. This could lead to other future opportunities for us in the future by getting into contact with these people.

Yes

It is an amazing place to work. The culture is very diverse as well as peoples' backgrounds. Lots of employees studied different things at universities and some people have come through from an apprenticeship. Also, the freedom to work from home is also very persuading for people to join.

Take the time to look into the programme and what it entails. I signed up before i knew it was paid and that i would gain a CMI qualification, so i came in not knowing some benefits.