Application Development New Associate Review

My role is project based so it can differ depending on what project I am working on at a given time. Currently I am not on a project so I spend my time upskilling and looking for projects that I can then apply to. We are given resources to help us build skills while we are unassigned that will in turn help us find new projects that are looking for those skills.

Yes since starting the apprenticeship I have become a lot better at programming. I had very little experience beforehand and had never worked with the Java language before. We cover this content at university and I also spend some of my time while not on a project working on online courses to improve my skills.

I find the apprenticeship quite enjoyable because it gives me the freedom to learn and I have the opportunity to gain experience at the same time. I also work with other apprentices that are at different stages of the programme so there is support in place to help get a better understanding of the way that things work. The only issue that I have had with the experience so far is the fact that I have been finding it difficult to get onto a project therefore I feel like I am spending a lot of my time training as opposed to working.

I think that the programme is very well structured. Starting with the introduction we went to a two week "bootcamp" at which we were given a lot of information and training in a short amount of time to give us a boost into the way that the company works. The way that training works is also good because we have our university day once a week which gives us time to work on that and then any time spent off of a project also goes towards training meaning that we get a lot of time dedicated to it. There is also a good support system in place as we have people designated to helping us and there are also the other people within the company that I have gotten to know that are always willing to help out. The only issue with the way that the programme works, that I have found, is the fact that when you first start you come in with only a small amount of experience and it can be hard to get more experience as a lot of projects are looking for people that already know what they are doing.

There is a lot of support offered by lots of different people. There are people that run the apprenticeships that we can talk to about any issues that we may be having or ask any questions that we might have. I also have my line manager that is always very willing to help and put time into making sure that I am on track and helps me to move on in my career. Aside from these people that are assigned the job of being supportive I have also found that everyone that I have interacted with in the company has been very willing to help out and share their knowledge.

The university is also very supportive. There are lots of opportunities to talk directly to the lecturers involved with each module that we cover in order to get help or a better understanding. We also have someone in place to monitor how we are doing at university and at work and we have meetings to discuss this.

Currently I am not assigned to a project so the work that we do at university doesn't relate to what I do on a work day but the things that we focus on are all areas that will be useful to my career in the long term as I could join a project where that is what they are working on.

When I first joined there was not a lot of events that happened in the office that I work in because it was difficult for people to get to. However, the office has recently moved and there has been a massive increase in the amount of events that take place ranging from networking events to opportunities to chat with other people that work out of the office.

Yes

I think it is a good company to start working for because it is very big but there is also a sense of community especially with people that are based from the same office as you. This means that you get the feel that you are working in an important company but it is not overly corporate in the sense that you feel like you are working with people that you get along with rather than people that look down on you.

I would say that when applying to Accenture it is good to come across professional in the interviews/assessment days but it is also important to seem likable because the company has a strong interest in its employees feeling connected. For people going into the assessment day I would let them know that it isn't as bad as they would imagine. I personally did 4 different assessment days at different companies and the one with Accenture was by far the best one.