Software Developer Review

My role consists of development tasks taken from a Jira work board. These can range from bug fixes to new feature requests or UI designs. I also attend different daily/weekly calls regarding tasks being worked on as well as prioritisation. I have also had the chance to lead projects/ features in my role.

I have learnt object-oriented development from the ground up, with a primary focus in the Java language however I have also been taught the principles of web development and languages such as Python. I have also learnt skills regarding professional relationships with people internal and external to the business, all with varying technical knowledge.

I very much enjoyed the work aspect of my role and how involved I became in my team. However many of the learning courses I was put on as part of the scheme seems somewhat outdated and non-relevant to the skills I was using in my actual role. For example accreditation in Windows 8 was done even tho WIndows 10 is long term support version of Windows and has been for many years.

There is an overall structure to the apprenticeship standards that I feel is slightly too vague to actually work off and seems to value being a jack of all trades rather than someone who specialises into a specific field. This was not helped by my training provider who seemed to provide little to no additional structure to the scheme.

I received all of my allotted learning time from my employer as well as the majority of my self taught courses being provided to my via my employers online learning platforms. My manager helped guide my learning and ensured that all other members in the team understood my apprenticeship and encouraged the seniors to work with me and show me their roles.

Apart from an online platform to post my projects I feel that Arch provided very little in the terms of 'support' during my apprenticeship. There was no guidance (or conflicting guidance) around what structures work best for projects as well as little being done when competencies were hard to understand or meet.

I feel that the actual learning provided via the scheme and Arch haven't really helped me in my role. As mentioned before I did a course on Windows 8 web applications when my day job was using Java and object orientation languages, nothing was done in terms of training me for my actual role other than what my team provided me with.

Yes. I have been involved in multiple after work events as well as been given time to do charity work around the local area. Unilever allow apprentices to take part in all of the out of hours activities and even encourage apprentices to do apprentice wide events such as nights out or meals.

Yes

I feel that overall the company can provide those with drive a good career and at the very worst can be an excellent place to learn and network across a wide business. I would however advice those looking to get solely into IT to look elsewhere. As Unilever are not an IT company and do not value IT in the same regards to the rest of the business.

Always try to show interest in the company and stay true to what you want to be. Many of the recruiters are looking for determination to learn other having the preexisting skills or abilities. I would also advice to look into the company as Unilever is very proud of its past.