360 Apprentice Review

I work alongside assistant managers, graduates and managers on client work which can involve emails and spreadsheets. I have to ask a lot of questions to understand what I am doing and have my work reviewed and amend my work accordingly. I must answer emails and make time for my apprentice learning also.

Yes, without a doubt. I have learned so many technical skills such as excel and other software especially during my time in the Pensions Actuarial team. I have also learned many interpersonal skills due to a lot of networking and meeting and working with new people. I have also learned to balance work and study well.

In theory I do enjoy my programme and I think the idea behind it is fantastic. However, I don't feel like the rest of the business understands my role and there aren't systems in place to make the transition of one team to another easy. For example, IT systems to make sure you have access to all the correct drives etc. But I really enjoy working alongside people in the business and I have learned so much.

I don't think it is greatly organised as we find out things very last minute and sometimes it can feel like your passed from one person to another when trying to ask a question, or you're just pointed in the direction of a shared area and not given a straight answer. There are so many different people involved that I often do not know who does what role and who is the person I should go to for a certain thing. I think the whole process should be simplified and there should be some form of standardisation because different people tell you to do things differently and it can be very confusing.

I do receive a lot of support from my employer with access to study days and plenty of people I can contact if I am worried about my performance and they would be more than happy to discuss this with me and make a plan on what we can do to improve.

We do receive a lot of support from our training provider BPP. I have always had friendly tutors who are more than happy to help and ask questions and provide their emails for queries later down the line. They also send out emails to remind of how much progress we should've made by which date in terms of revision and they have an online portal which is a useful resource.

I don't particularly feel like my qualification itself is useful towards my job role as I have been in the Pensions Actuarial team and now Audit so before it wasn't really too relevant. However, now in Audit I am recognising a lot of the information and technical terms which I wouldn't otherwise know.

Yes there are lots of social events and communities to get involved in. Some aren't very active or aren't very well known and I'm not sure who I would think to contact if I wanted to join, however, there have been a netball and tag rugby tournament and plenty of pub socials so overall it is a very social office and there are plenty of chances to network.

Yes

I think it is a fantastic company with a really great ethos. The hard work and dedication to the job can be seen in everyone and it makes for a really productive work environment. The exposure you can get from working at a Big Four company cannot be replicated anywhere else and the fast pace of work is very exciting.

Be prepared to work hard and know what you are signing up for. It is a fantastic opportunity so do everything you can to give yourself the best chance of being hired. Don't feel like you have to be an accountant before you start working here - that is why we are being trained.