Technology Degree Apprentice Review

Being a degree apprenticeship, a lot of time is spent at university. This is very similar to a regular university experience but with regular check ins and support from PwC. Whilst on placement, time is spent in the office, learning new business application specific skills, attending meetings and working on projects.

I was able to develop a multitude of new skills, both at university and on placement. These included software engineering, statistics, day to day workplace skills, presentation skills, leadership and organisational skills. Due to the nature of PwC, the work available and the skills which can be developed whilst on placement vary based on what projects are ongoing.

The programme is very enjoyable and provides a huge amount of skills and the chance to test these and real world experience. At times it can be challenging, however seeing your hard work pay off makes it more than worth the effort. PwC make sure to organise many social events which contribute to making things more enjoyable overall.

The university component of the programme is well structured, you are always aware of what you should be working towards. The placement component is less structured. Experiences in this part can be varied based on the availability of work and the team. Induction and training do follow a regular structure.

PwC provide a range of support services, including buddies, career coaches and mentors. This gives you a wide range of people to go to with different queries. Some will be working closely with you and others will come from different areas and be able to provide different kinds of advice from different perspectives. Everyone has always been happy to help out in this regard.

There is plenty of support from the university, this comes in the form of academic advisors, tutors and peer support. Accessing useful support has never been an issue. People have always been happy to offer this support and it has been useful in working towards qualifications.

In my experience, my qualification has not yet been directly relevant to my role. It has instead provided a range of transferable skills which have been invaluable to performing my role. Likewise, skills which I have learned at work will be transferable back to my studies. I expect there to be more opportunities to apply my qualification to work as I progress with it.

PwC provide many opportunities to get involved with social events. I was able to integrate better into my team by attending these social events and getting to know colleagues outside of the office. I think that this is an important part of networking and it enabled me to work more effectively with my colleagues.

Yes

I feel that this apprenticeship is providing me with the skills and experience that I need to have an advantage over people on traditional degree programmes. Despite being more challenging than a traditional degree, this programme is providing me with a fantastic headstart to my career. Because of this, I would recommend it to a friend

PwC look for people who are well balanced. A combination of technical and interpersonal skills are key to performing well at interview and in the job. The assessment day may feel daunting but is a great experience to have, even if you are unsuccessful you will still learn from it, which will set you up to succeed in the future.