Trainee Assosiate 1 Review

I work within Risk Assurance so I mainly work on internal audits. The jobs and businesses are so varied meaning not one week is the same, and I get to experience so much. The main client I have worked on is a large insurance firm where I have been performing a controls effectiveness audit. This has been very interesting and, even though I’ve only been with the firm for a few months, I have learnt so much about how the world of insurance works.

I am working towards an ACA Qualification (ICAEW) and have already passed 2 of the 15 exams. These were Accounting and Assurance and I had 3 weeks off to study for both with a mix of college and self-managed learning. I had so much support PwC and because most people at PwC have been through these exams, everyone around me gave me loads of advice and support. It will take me 4 years to qualify as an Accountant, compared to the 6/7 years it would have taken if I had opted to go to university.

The programme is tough as there's a lot of complex things to learn. However, you are given so much support from everyone around you, which makes the experience much easier. I really enjoy everything about PwC from the flexibility, to the support and company culture. There's loads of fun events that go on outside of work too.

Many of the managers/in charges who you work with have all been in your shoes at one time. You get regular feedback from people you have worked with, and there's plenty of opportunities for people to reward good work. Usually, you will get booked to work on the same client each year, which I find makes you feel like you are valued as managers were impressed with the work you did previously.

The induction into PwC took place over a month. I started in September and that full month was spent at training events and college. This was great as I learnt alot about PwC and the work I would be doing, before I started to work on clients. The apprenticeship is structured over 4 years, and from my main induction in week 1, they ran through what exams I would take each year and what the course looked like over the 4 years.

My training provider is Kaplan. So far I have completed 2 of my ACA exams. I spent 2 weeks in college learning the content and another week of self-study learning. Kaplan's resources are good, you are given the official ICAEW revision book and question bank, along with Kaplan's own study manual. The study manual is much easier to follow that the ICAEW books, however, I would have liked to have more questions/mocks provided by Kaplan. There's also online presentations etc and tests run by Kaplan, which is very useful.

Everyone is so helpful at PwC. You have so many people who you feed directly into. When you join you are given a buddy who is someone who started in your position last year. Then you have a people manager who keeps track of your progress etc and deals with you end of year appraisals. There's then a manager and in charge on each job you work on, which means you always have someone to go to about the work you are doing. They've just introduced Director/Partner mentor groups, which bridges the gap between junior and senior staff. You have group events and 1-to-1 meetings where junior members of staff can get to know senior members and vice versa.

The salary package is healthy for my age. It covers all my monthly expenses and is inline with the work I do. It is a higher salary than most apprenticeships, and it increases as I become more qualified. PwC also have a benefits package where you are given a certain amount to spend on things such as life insurance, private health care, pension etc.

There are many events that take place where you can meet other people from different areas, and get to know the people in your department better. I have only been with the firm for a few months but already I have attended many socials, the best being Tick Tock Unlock, Shuffleboard, and the Christmas party. Due to the nature of the job, people work on client’s sites or are travelling often so not everyone is in the office at the same time, which means these social events are a great way to get to know people.

Yes

PwC is a great employer to work for. The work is interesting, they pay for all your exams and study, and there's regular training so you don't feel like you've been left to figure it out for yourself after the first week etc. It's a great job to have just after leaving school as they understand the experiences you have had as a school leaver and tailor the course around that.

Definitely read up about PwC and the role you're applying for. Even though people say you don't need to do anything to prepare for an interview, you do. Just look at what people look for in an interview, how to answer the questions in the best way possible. I found that it's best to get a list of things you have done in the past, when you've worked in a team etc, and use experiences as examples in interviews etc, even if it seems like something minor. PwC are keen about their competencies, so read up on them, and find a situation you have been in where you needed to use those competencies and what the outcome was. If you do this before your interview, there's no awkward silences etc!