Technology Apprentice Review

On a daily basis I intend university during the school term and carry out a regular university life, with the occasional work PwC commitment, such as meetings and WebEx calls in order to prepare us for our placement. Over Summer I have a ten week placement which involves carry out technology related tasks for the company.

I have developed skills with regards to functioning as a young professional adult. I have also learnt new skills such as professional behaviour, team building as well as university related skills to do with learning and time management. I have also had to work on communication skills when emailing other employees of the firm with higher position than I. Furthermore, I will gain new skills during the week long training we undertake before our Summer placement.

I thoroughly enjoy the programme. Aswell as being able to build my professional and academic career, I have been able to develop strong friendships with other people on the same degree apprenticeship as me which for the past year has provided me with a very well rounded lifestyle. I have also partaken in events for the company aswell that are charity related such as a Quiz Night and football tournament which allowed me to meet new people within the firm.

The programme is very well structured in terms of the fact I am allowed to enjoy a relatively normal university lifestyle while also being able to learn work skills and have a placement that will develop my skills further and teach me lots more than university alone would have. The programme was quick in providing each apprentice with buddies that we can contact for immediate information and when meetings are organised we are always sent thorough emails with details and who to contact for follow up question.

We are grouped into teams of three to four and each group is assigned a buddy at the company who we can contact whenever we need to with questions about the company and how things work. Furthermore we are given opportunities to meet other buddies aswell. We also have tripartite meetings with a representive from our employer and university where we are given the ability to voice concerns and discuss our progress. Whenever we contact staff we are always made to feel welcome with our questions, even if they may seem basic from the perspective of someone working at the company, and there is always patience when dealing with our questions.

We have tripartite meetings with a representative from the company and our university where we can voice concerns. In addition, we have a form tutor at university who we have a group scheduled meeting with once a week during a term time where we can discuss problems to do with academic work and life. My tutor is also always willing to see us when possible outside of this tutor time and will reply to emails with our questions. My tutor is always happen to see our group and we will also always have friendly discussions and the tutor meetings can sometimes be a highlight of the week.

As I have not yet completed the placement side of my first year of the apprenticeship I can not fully answer. However, the information university teaches me will help me perform better by giving me a deeper understanding of the knowledge I will have to put into practise in the work place and perhaps even have to learn a deeper knowledge of there. Furthermore, the skills taught through having multiple coursework and deadlines to deal with individually helps providing useful skills when it comes to being able to juggle workload in my role.

There are many opportunities to get involved with at the company. One of the first events we were invited to was a professional networking event where we could get to know each other, while meeting a few people from the company who had different roles. In addition this was social as there was pizza and drinks and the ability to walk around and chat. I personally have also opted to take part in charity events at the company such as a Quiz Night with the apprentices and our buddies which was a fun evening to socialise while also raising money. There was also a charity football tournament for the office we are based in and I was part of the apprentice team that took part and played against teams of staff from the company we had never met before. This provided not only a chance to raise money, but to be physically fit and possibly meet and talk to people from the office we will be working in over Summer.

Yes

The PwC apprenticeship provides opportunities many didn't when I was searching for apprenticeships to possibly apply for. It provides an opportunity to do uni in a normal fashion (attending weekly during the year as opposed to one or two days a week for a longer period of time) aswell as not having a commitment to the company after finishing the qualification. However, the company so far has been brilliant to work for, in regards to social, educational, and work lifestyle. This makes it easy to understand why they don't feel the need to make you stay after the qualification.

I would tell them to dress smart and remain professional, despite the friendly nature of the company it is always good to start with a great first impression. I would also recommend seeking your own work experience in other areas or having a well rounded set of extra curriculars to provide you with things to talk about in the interview process with regards to being able to relate questions about skills to previous experiences. However, most importantly relax. Interviews and applications can be stressful but in situations such as group interviews its important you can show you can keep calm in front of not only the interviewer but potential fellow apprentices. Potential fellow apprentices is also a key phrase to use here, despite the fact they may seem like competition for a spot on the programme. This is as most of my fellow apprentices remember a few people from the application interview process; some of those made it onto the course and some didn't. However, these first impressions from over a year ago are still remembered in current friendships today, so its important to also use the interview as a way to network in itself, and show yourself as a friendly face to other interviewees not just the interviewers.