PEGA developer Review

I currently work within Vodafone's Automation Domain whilst completing a degree apprenticeship program. Leveraging PEGA and other underlying technologies to simplify and automate manual business processes within an AGILE/SCRUM workspace. This work comes alongside my Digital and technology degree of which I am partaking in the "IT consultant" pathway.

I've learnt a plethora of new skills: - Corporate maturity - PEGA BPM - Oracle SQL - REST APIs basics - Professional enterprise customer engagement - Salesforce basics - Software development testing fundamentals This being a list of the most notable for me at this present time but I'm sure there are more. I think it's important to invest in your employees and Vodafone do just that providing Vodafone Uni for all employees. I also gain a great deal of time from senior members of various teams, who are more than happy to sit down and explain their domain to me.

I love my work, I've always been passionate about problem solving and making people's lives/jobs easier & happier using technology. So Vodafone really does it's part in fulfilling the rewarding element of my day-to-day. This being said I feel as if the infancy of the QA degree apprenticeship programme has really hindered (and continues to hinder) my educational development, I do firmly believe if my employer was less supportive I may have pursued different means to achieve an education (Open Uni etc.). So in summary; Vodafone are excellent & I thoroughly enjoy working there. QA have much to do and many improvements to make, it's just unfortunate that I am one of the first cohorts to join the programme as many positive changes are being made for students, they just don't impact me.

Again from a Vodafone perspective they are relatively experienced in hiring young aspiring professionals into apprentice roles, although one improvement I would suggest is that if prospective apprentices express a definite passion for a particular area within Vodafone that this passion should be reflected in the job role offered to them. E.g. every member of my cohort has found a second role after

The management within my team will always go above and beyond to ensure that I am receiving the best treatment possible, my boss often challenges me to go further and learn more. I don't really have many complaints about my employer! Wider than my team, Vodafone is great at caring for it's employees, I receive a competitive salary, bonus and 28 days paid holiday each year, the list goes on.

Unfortunately in much the same manner as in the previous questions, I just feel that QA could be far more proactive with our learning than they currently are. The youthful nature of the degree programme itself really shows in certain aspects. For a topical example; ordinarily we are provided with two workshops per module, each covered in-house at QA over a period of 2 days. Since the lockdown, we have been working from home, WebEx's have been organised to provide the module workshops, except the communications for dates and times was late (3 working days before the first WebEx), leaving little time to arrange time off with my employer. The WebEx's are also four sessions of 3 hours each, this means we are losing out on ~1/2 of our average learning time with a lecturer.

Unfortunately again, I find that a vast majority of my modules thusfar have very limited applications to my day-to-day role. I really hope that as I move up the levels within the programme and become more specialised that this improves & I find more use for my education within the workplace.

Vodafone provides an array of social activities, a lot of pop-up self-organised quizzes, games and breakout social meetings have been organised within my team, meaning it's easier to communicate during these troubling times. Non-COVID examples include: Sports day, regular training events, pavilion expos, wider domain all-hands regularly & professional training and networking events (5G training etc.)

Yes

Vodafone provide a well-rounded workplace to all their employees. I can happily say that I'm overjoyed Vodafone is my first dip into the corporate world. They are such a vast company, all you need is pro-activity and enthusiasm and you will find yourself with too many opportunities to pursue!

Be yourself & don't worry about corporate politics. No experience is without it's challenges, I joined Vodafone in a different team where the chemistry wasn't optimal, hence me finding a second position. I think it's important to know that nothing worth 'fighting' for is often an easy 'fight'. As I mentioned before, pro-activity and enthusiasm/passion for the work and for the people you work with goes a very long way. Good luck!