Software Engineering Apprentice Review

Despite only being in the first year of my apprenticeship, I have learnt so many valuable skills. My role requires me to communicate with people on a daily basis, and I have therefore learnt how to communicate effectively with others, and how to ask the right questions to get my work to where it needs to be. I have also been given the opportunity to develop my coding skills, which have improved massively in a very short time period.

I wouldn't change what I am doing for anything. I enjoy getting up everyday and going into work because the office isn't just somewhere that I go for 8 hours, do my work and then go home again. I enjoy working with my team, who are always happy to help no matter how stupid the question, and we ensure that we also have fun while getting all of our work done. The people are really what make it a great place to work.

I would say the structure of the programme is flexible, and caters to all apprentices, no matter their starting position. I entered the apprenticeship with hardly any experience with coding, and this was catered to as I was given the opportunity to become more familiar with the subject before I was given any responsibilities - I wasn't thrown into the deep end. We were also given a period to settle into University and get used to the work life balance.

On my first week of the apprenticeship, I was told by my employer that I wasn't just there to work for them, rather that they were they to help us and our personal development. I was made to feel at ease, and that I could ask any question and they would be happy to help. I was allocated a buddy during my first week on the job, who I was able to shadow. This helped in immersing me into the team and the sort of work that I would soon be undertaking

The training provider allocates all apprentices to an academic tutor. This tutor has kept in touch regularly to check on our progress, and regularly sends out emails that help guide us through the admin tasks of the apprenticeship, to ensure that we stay on track in regards to the apprentice standard.

At first glance, it would seem that the work we do at work is very different to the kind of work we do at university. However, I have found that rather than applying the knowledge I have learn at university to the workplace, I have been applying skills, and concepts that I have developed through doing university work.

Although I haven't participated in any of these events, there are many different events that take place year round, some that take place more regularly than others. For example, there are many different groups that meet during a lunch hour that help people to develop different skills, such as communication skills, or presentation skills.

Yes

I have learnt so much during my time on the apprenticeship, and the majority of that learning has been aided by my colleagues, who are approachable, friendly and always happy to help. My colleagues are always thinking of fun and interesting work that I can get involved in which will help in my development, or help me practice the skills that I have learnt at university.

Applying to any apprenticeship is never easy, but I would say that you should know what you want to get out of the apprenticeship, and show that you want to learn and develop yourself - the team at KPMG are happy to help in your development, but they can only do that if you put the effort in.