Flying Start Degree programme graduate newcastle Review

Each year a placement is undertaken with the job title of Associate. During time spend on placement, the role involves working on the audit of companies including large listed organisations as well as a number of smaller companies. This involves working as part of a team and interacting with the staff at the client to perform testing to confirm their accounts present and fair view of their financial performance in the year. Over the placements I typically worked on around 8-10 clients and performed varying roles on each.

As well as completing 12 out of the 15 exams required to become a chartered accountant over the course of the degree, I also gained around half the practical work experience required as well. On top of this, the program allows for the development of team-work, communication and organisational skills and develops the mindset required to become an accountant. Training is given before the start of each placement to teach the knowledge and skills that will be expected over the course of the next placement

The program is challenging but enjoyable. Time at university is pressured to develop the knowledge required to pass the exams. When on placement, the offices have a positive culture, allowing individuals to develop professionally as well as being friendly and supportive places. THere is the opportunity to work on a variety on teams, and the change in teams and clients allows for a rounded experience

PwC ensure feedback is given for all work completed allowing people to feel valued as their efforts are recognised. The company culture helps ensure individuals feel valued and offices all have schemes to allocate recognition awards to people who have performed well in their role. They also value success in university, awarding prizes for people who perform well in exams each year

The program is well organised, integrating placements alongside university study to allow knowledge learned to be applies as well as real world experience to be utilised to further understanding of learning. Training is also integrated to allow to be effective in supporting the work that will be done on placement. The mentoring scheme and buddy system on placement provide support through both aspects of the course

Training is provided by University, Icaew and Kaplan, a company specialising in teaching for professional qualifications. There is a strong support system in place at the university, ensuring all students have a point of contact when help is needed. ALl tutors strive to support students to achieve the best they can and offer help and guidance were appropriate

There are multiple support systems within PwC both specific to the flying start course and from PwC themselves. The champion and buddy systems give more informal 'friendly' support by ensuring there is someone to ask questions to either specific to the course or about general work life. Everyone is also allocated a people manager, a more formal support system who helps with their peoples professional development as well as any other issues someone may be having

The salary package given is more than sufficient to meet costs particularly as it is in addition to any student loans otherwise entitled to. Any additional costs such as for living in a different city are incurred by PwC ensuring no-one is out of pocket due to their placement location. After graduating, the joining wage is good when compared with other graduate salaries and is therefore more than adequate to cover living costs and social costs

There are sports teams in most of the offices giving the chance to meet a variety of people in a more social environment. There are also regular socials within departments including meals and a number of networking events throughout the year with other firms. Many of these are subsidised by PwC ensuring everyone can take part. When working away from the base office, many teams chose to go for meals together and sometimes organise other activities in the evenings

Yes

PwC provided a good platform for a career in accounting and finance. The course provides a 'best of both worlds' with both the university experience and the work experience and knowing you have a grad job before starting uni is one less thing to worry about. Earning money throughout university allows for the experience to be enjoyed more. After university, there is only one more year till being fully qualified, reducing the amount of time spent in training

I would advise people to consider what they want to get out of university, the course is not an 'easy' option and requires people to be willing to work throughout - this is not to say there is not time for enjoying it as well. people should ensure they have fully researched the course before hand and understand the structure of the program. For interviews, i would people think about what makes them stand out and how they can demonstrate professional skills including teamwork leadership communication and problem solving from what they have done