Software Developer Review

I work in a team of software developers, delivering new features and fixes for one of Vodafone's business customer platforms. We work in an agile approach so I spend time working with other developers and interacting with people such as my scrum master, product owner, business analyst etc. I am also expected to interact with stakeholders for the project in other parts of the business and on occasion work directly with our customers, although that's not my primary role. In my role I am expected to be able to complete work on user stories which can vary from implementing new features, fixing new issues or researching new solutions to existing problems. I am encouraged to learn new things as much as possible in my role not only because I'm an apprentice but also because they want us innovating as much as possible, which can be really interesting. I have always had support around me when I need it, but a key skill to learn in this role is being able to proactively seek that out yourself.

I had very little programming experience when I started the role and I have been fully supported towards learning everything I've needed to learn by Vodafone. A mixture of learning in role is supported by self-led online tutorials, pair programming and code reviews. I now feel fully confident in picking up any task in my team and in moving between teams within Vodafone, learning new skills as necessary. The training courses with QA are not particularly useful but they at least expose you to other ways of working and learning. From these training courses I have a couple of qualifications from the BCS authority, which is ultimately responsible for the level 4 qualification itself.

Vodafone has a really inclusive culture, encouraging everyone to be comfortable and happy at work. I have worked across a few different teams and in each team I've worked with people have been very welcoming, helpful and friendly. I have not been treated any differently as an apprentice, other people have allowed for the fact I didn't have much knowledge about programming to begin with but otherwise you're treated the same as a regular employee. I enjoy my role at Vodafone, it's a good company to work for and the teams I have worked in have all been really good.

Spending time with QA has been the only problem I've had with my apprenticeship. The programme isn't well communicated or structured. If you need any help with anything, you have a skills coach assigned to you but the one I have assigned to me has mostly been absent, despite escalations within Vodafone and QA. On the Vodafone side, I have had a lead developer assigned to me throughout my time there who has mentored and supported me through learning new skills. As such, the in role experience has been more valuable to me than any structured kind of programme.

I have regular one-to-ones with my manager, initially once a week and now once a fortnight. Most issues I've had with the apprenticeship have been resolved with the help of the team who manages the apprenticeships and most people I have reached out to i.e. manager/HR reps have been able to either help me or point me in the correct direction.

Everyone is assigned a skills coach from QA, however the one I was assigned has not been good. His communication has been patchy at best and I have had to spend a lot of time trying to get a response from him. If you are happy working on your own and progressing through it without much support you will be fine. I have not enjoyed any interaction with QA I have had.

Some of the things learned from the QA have fed into my role and some are just useful to have as background knowledge. I have been exposed to different programming languages with QA that I don't actually use in my daily role but it has still been interesting to learn. I think that what I've learned from QA has given me a base level of knowledge about what was happening in my role but ultimately the actual hands on experience has been most valuable.

Vodafone has multiple different societies you can get involved with, run mainly by people on youth programmes. It also has multiple different employee-led networks. All of these have various different events including all-day events, talks, charity fundraising etc. that you can get involved with. Each employee gets five volunteering days a year that they can use to continue to get paid to volunteer for a charity of their choice. My team has had semi-regular nights out doing things like go-karting and an escape room. One of the biggest benefits of working for Vodafone is that there are always opportunities for other things to get involved in, you might need to look for them but they can be a lot of fun and most importantly, they are really good for networking.

Yes

The culture at Vodafone is really good and it's a a good environment to work in. I have always had support from my line manager and immediate team if I've needed anything. Vodafone gives you lots of opportunities to get involved with things in your own team, in the much wider company and get involved in different external events too.

They're not looking for you to have any specific knowledge, if you do great but they're not going to be as fussed about it. The most important thing is to show that you want to learn new things, that it's something you're passionate about. You also need to show that you'll proactively seek out opportunities yourself. Finally, research Vodafone and it's culture, it will help a lot.