IT Operations New Associate Review

I work on the HMRC project on a team called Build. This involves day to day problem solving and working from technical designs to produce amended code. I work on creating and updating the tax and national insurance systems for HMRC. There is a lot of communication in the office and a lot of external communication, particularly via email or travel. I will get given a module with code in it already and a design to work from in order to improve the tax and national insurance system. On a day to day basis I read the designs and build code.

With the Apprenticeship we receive both training and qualifications. At the end of the 3 year apprenticeship I will have a Level 3 in IT, an NVQ and a foundation degree from Northumbria University in IT & Telecoms. I have also gained personal skills, communication skills and the ability to read and write code in different languages. Since starting at Accenture I have received training in Java Scripting, C++ Language and SQL Database training, which is all useful towards day to day work in the office.

I like the work, team and the people here. I believe Accenture follow their own culture and it works really well. Everyone at Accenture is really easy to get along with and extremely helpful. Accenture exceeded my expectations, I knew they were a good company to work for and has time has gone on I have realised how good of a company they are to work for.

Accenture make all apprentices feel very valued and take great pride in their apprenticeship programme. Apprentices are very well thought of in Accenture. Nothing you do for Accenture goes unrecognised and they always find a way to reward any hard work done. There are a lot of schemes and benefits working here and apprentices are also involved in these and treated like everyone else in the company.

The time scale Accenture set for the apprenticeship is very well structured and thought out. The induction and training is in the first 4 weeks of employment. The qualification from college takes 1 year and the degree at university takes 2 years. The tasks given out by the project manager always come with a time scale of when they need to be completed by and when the whole project needs to be sent off for testing. Accenture work to a strict deadline and everyone is expected to meet these deadlines.

Both the college tutor and the NVQ assessors are very helpful and do everything they can to help you pass your courses. They are as commited as you are. There is always the oppportunity for 1-to-1 meetings with the tutors and assessors if you need the help and they never have a problem with going out of their own way to help you.

When starting at Accenture you are assigned both a Careers Counsellor and a 'Buddy.' These are both people you can ask about pretty much anything. However people in Accenture will tell you you can talk to anyone you feel comfortable talking to and they will help you as much as they can. Everyone here is more than happy to help out where they can.

Accenture allow a certain amount of expenses related to work to be paid to you on top of your salary if it is due to a business requirement. However the salary is actually really good for an apprentice and as you progress and given you pass your first year qualification, the salary goes up for the rest of the apprenticeship. For me the daily costs of getting to work and back are very little as I have my own car and don't live far from my base at Longbenton. Accenture are very keen on keeping their employees healthy and offer 50% towards a gym membership every month!

There are a lot of opportunities in Accenture for promotion, travelling, volunteering and company events to take part in. Since starting Accenture I have volunteered for almost everything I had the opportunity to. I think this is made enjoyable as other people in Accenture are very commimted to volunteering their time to help Accenture, and this does not go unrecognised. I have always been thanked and given recognition for my volunteering and participation in company events. There are apprentices here that work in London 4 days a week with their train travel paid for, hotel accomodation paid for and expenses for their food on a daily basis. There are opportunities to travel to get the training required for certain roles which is also funded by Accenture!

Yes

Accenture is a global company, it is such a big place to work for. Everyone here is so helpful and there are so many opportunities to go further in the company. Accenture focus on recruiting internally for promotions, sticking to a pyramid hierarchy. There are so many benefits to working here both physical benefits and personal benefits. You gain so many skills here and learn something new every day! There is always another role for you if you don't like the one you are currently in. They offer both technical and non-technical roles so its not to worry if you aren't a technical person or if your more of a design person. There is a role for almost anyones preferences at Accenture.

Your experience is not an issue to Accenture when hiring apprentices. If Accenture think you will fit in with their work ethics and believe you want to learn, progress and work within Accenture, they will provide you with all of the training you need. The best bit of advice to give would be to apply even if you don't think you have the skills required because Accenture will put the effortn and time into training you up and giving you the skills you will need to work here.