Apprentice Review

I am currently a year 360 apprentice at KPMG which has allowed me to obtain 6-9 month placements within a variety of departments. As a result of this my day-to-day role varies with each placement. Currently I am working in Investment Advisory (which is apart of the wider Pensions department), so on a day-to-day basis, I am learning about the different classes of assets which pension funds can invest in as well as 'originating' quarterly monitoring reports which details how investments have performed over the prior quarter.

The 360 programme is great for learning new, and developing existing skills. One of my prior placements was with the Corporate Restructuring department which was a great experience for building my confidence and communication skills as I was corresponding with a large variety of stakeholders of companies in administration. Furthermore, it built on my team working skill as I had to liaise with a variety of team members for advise on certain situations.

I like variety and the 360 programme has variety, so I enjoy the programme. With each new placement I am learning new technical skills as well as meeting new people who are friendly and open to teach new joiners. The culture of KPMG is good as well as there are plenty of Manchester based socials, but also socials that bring together all of the apprentices in my year to e.g. the London office.

The programme is well organised/ structured. The programme is 6 years long, with the 1st 3 years studying towards AAT level 3 and 4 and the 2nd 3 years studying towards the chartered exams (ACA, ACCA, CTA). The AAT exams are mandatory for all 360 standard apprentices and the chartered exams are dependant on which department the apprentice chooses to 'specialise' in.

KPMG is a good employer to work for, one of the reasons is because they provide a lot of support for colleagues. For example, we have a mental wellbeing team in Manchester which focuses on improving the work life of staff. This is achieved through various office wide sessions regarding mental health, or 'wellbeing' walks around Manchester to get staff away from their desk.

The training provider for KPMG apprentices is BPP which co-ordinates all of our teaching and exams. Aspects that make BPP a good provider is that they provide competent tutors who are chartered accountants and we receive course books/ question banks and an online learning portal. Aspects that make BPP a bad provider is that the quality of the course books/ question banks is not high, such as the 'working outs' for answers are sometimes not provided, and minor concepts are sometimes missed which can appear in the exams.

Overall, I rarely apply my qualification to my role, so it has minimal effect on my performance. For example, I have completed exams on management accounting and tax which have not come into use as I have never experienced placements in, such as Management Consulting or Tax, which is where this knowledge is most applicable. Furthermore, I have had a placement in within the legal department which is not accountancy related at all.

There are plenty of extra-curricular activities to get involved with at KPMG. KPMG is a member of a lot of professional networking events if you would like to build your external connections. Equally, internal events are organised on a variety of topics from tech, the environment and mental health. Lastly, there are department events to get involved with such as quizzes or sports competitions.

Yes

KPMG is a good employer which looks after all it's staff, provides a lot of variety and maintains a good culture. There a also a lot of opportunities to develop ones skills and gain CV-worthy experience. KPMG is also a recognisable brand which has positive connotations for being professional and producing sought after talent.

Firstly for people applying for an apprenticeship, KPMG is not concerned if you do not have any accountancy experience (I didn't). KPMG are more interested in the personality of applicants, specifically if they are ambitious, entrepreneurial (i.e. can identify opportunities) and show a keenness to learning new information.