Financial Accounting Apprentice Review

I am an apprentice in a financial accounting team at Engie. My daily tasks include things such as speaking to Finance business partners (FBP). I also do things such as balance sheet reconciliations and I am responsible for allocating costs out to the wider business. I am also involved in things such as customer service day which is something we are holding at Engie's SSC in Newcastle which invites FBPs to the SSC to meet employees.

I am currently working towards my level to AAT, funded by Engie. I have also developed a set of transferable skills which I use in my everyday life such as teamwork, communication and developed my confidence. Engie have put me on Excel training to better my skills for my working life.

I love working at engie, the team are great and I get on with the team really well. The culture of the company is amazing, there are people of all ages and from different backgrounds. Every employee is looked after and is valued. I did a works experience here so I knew what to expect however I can't imagine pother companies being as employee / customer focused as Engie.

Massively. There are little things such as 7x 1 hour early leave vouchers for birthdays. I am always receiving "thank you" or "well done" for my work. We also have awards at engie and my team have nominated me for them which increases the feeling of being valued.

I am supported massively with my programme. I have a day release weekly to attend a college to study for my AAT. I would not be able to complete my qualification without this. I am delegated tasks all of the time and each time they get more challenging in order to push me. I have monthly 1to1 meeting with my mentor to discuss how things are going.

I receive a lot of support from my training provider. They give me additional work to complete outside of college to broaden my learning and for revision purposes. They are always on hand when I need help and I can contact them when needed. Approx. 2 months after I started my apprenticeship someone from my training provider came in to Engie to talk to my manager and make sure everything was going the way it should and to explain a bit about the qualification I am doing with the training provider (Access training)

I have mentor whom I meet on a monthly basis. He supports me with things inside and outside of work. he isn't in my team which is good because it is easier to speak with him if I had a problem with something in my team but didn't feel confident raising by myself. If I find tasks too challenging I am always helped through it which has lead me to learn from my mistakes and I am now able to help some of the new starters in the team.

My salary isn't great but I expect that being a first year apprentice. However Engie have massively helped with travel costs as they paid for me to get a yearly bus pass with enables me to get to and from work every day. without this help It would have been a big financial problem for me.

The company are going to attend the Newcastle races in June which I have been invited to. There is also the chance to volunteer outside of work as employees are given 15 free hours to volunteer. They have a sports and social committee within the building which organize things such as the weekly dress down and domino card.

Yes

You are always valued as employee and the working is very flexible as people can work from home when they need to. The building is always clean and doesn't feel like it is a prison. Everyone at Engie is friendly and looks after each other. There are massive opportunities to work somewhere else in the country or even abroad. Also everyone is supported no matter what.

The interviews are quite relaxed compared to others that I have had. they usually make everyone work as a team before hand to try and see qualities such as team work, communication, confidence and leadership skills. The onboarding process was very structured and didn't leave me stressed. I was contacted by the onboarding team and I had already been made to feel welcome.