Business Insight Week Student Review

Day 1: Induction - We learned about the different areas at PwC and did some activities to help our understanding. Also, we were told about the different opportunities we have open to us to join PwC, specifically the school and college leaver programme and the flying start degree. Day 2: Shadowing my Buddy in Audit - I was matching financial reports with income statements and balance sheets for a real client. I asked my buddy a lot of questions about her experience with PwC. I was also able to observe her meetings with her manager and a phone call catch up she had. Day 3: Shadowing my Buddy in Tax - I started my day listening to a catch up between my buddy and his manager about land remediation and then listened to a phone call with a client. I did some R&D training then read up further about the topic. Then I had a debrief before observing a client meeting. Day 4: Shadowing my Buddy in Consulting - He gave us a lot of insight into the different competencies in consulting. Then we worked on a real client project about PropTech, creating a research pack. I also had the chance to talk to a senior manager about his experiences with consulting. Then, in a team we worked on a case study project then presented our suggestions back to our buddy with him giving us some helpful tips. He also helped us by giving us tips about the application process to gain a place on the higher apprenticeship programme. Day 5: Project Day -All week we had a project set about how the student recruitment team can improve social mobility within the business. As a team we will present our research and thoughts back in a presentation in front of parents.

I learned a lot about tax relief in the forms of R&D and land remediation. I had a formal training session on R&D and my buddy and his manager helped me to learn about land remediation. I also improved my presentation skills through multiple opportunities. The ability to dress appropriate for my day was worked on as well. Knowledge was furthered about the business as a whole so I can make an informed decision about my future.

I extremely enjoyed it. The variety of what we did gave me a thorough understanding of the business and has helped me to make the decision that I would love to do the higher apprenticeship when my mind was set on university before. It exceeded expectations and the additional knowledge I gained was the best.

It was fairly organised. I knew who my buddy was for each day at the beginning of the week. However, some buddies were better than others in terms of occupying me. Sometimes, they didn't know what we could do so we resorted to working on our social mobility projects. Although, most of the time we had something related to PwC to do. Also, passes to get around the building could have been easier to get and there should be more of them so we could get one each, rather than one per team.

I learned a lot. They went into thorough explanations explanations of every area of the business and ensured that we understood it easily. Also, the benefits of working at PwC in particular were highlighted. e.g. one firm one day, free coffee and tea, monthly socials, travel benefits and expenses

It has made me firmly decide that I want to gain a place on the school and college leaver programme rather than go to university. I thought I definitely wanted to go to university but after learning about the higher apprenticeship, I know that I would definitely prefer that route.

I am paid for the work experience. They are paying me £9.64 per hour for 37.5 hours in 5 days. However, my travel expenses are not reimbursed. Lunch was provided on day one and day five but the other days I had to buy my own lunch. However, I did have access to free coffee and tea all week. I would have still happily done the business insight week if I had not been paid as the experience has been invaluable.

All the time. I had many opportunities to meet senior managers and my buddy each day was from a different area in the business. It would have been good to have an insight into deals as well though as I would like to go into forensic accounting. I think we should have had the chance to choose our buddies depending on what we prefer. I observed many meetings.

Yes

They are very supportive and a big company. They give you so much information and insight, it is the most valuable thing for me to make an informed decision about my future. You often don't get such brilliant opportunities at the age of 17 so I would definitely highly recommend.

Be confident and do your research. At every stage of the application process I thought I would not get through but I did so you need self belief. Research of the business is essential and reading the news is very beneficial as it gives you knowledge so you can be more successful.