Apprentice Review

I am a tax account currently working in a team dealing with tax reclaims. Day to day involves reconciling vouchers and checking claims for mistakes, as well as liasing with custodians and clients to ensure we have the correct information. Multiple internaional tax authorities are involved, each with their own processes.

Microsoft Excel is one skill that will continually improve through an apprenticeship. Every role I have been assigned to has used it in some degree. Beyond this, learning on the job is one skill you will pick up. Very rarely have I been assinged to formal training for a role, often your learning will come from colleagues explaining processes and how best to tackle them.

The programme itself is one of the longest I have heard of. It provides a comfortable platform to work through the exams without the pressure of crushing work hours that many graduates seem to endure at the company. The people I've met have been the most enjoyable aspect that I've found, I don't think I've met anyone I couldn't class as welcoming and friendly.

Early years of the programme are well structured, with regular chances to meet up with the rest of the apprentices in your cohort. Exams are scheduled for you along with study leave and tuition, and access to apprentice management is open. Latter years of the programme I found this a bit lacking, as apprentices are passed on to be managed by the teams they assigned to rather than the central apprentice team. Booking exams without support can be greatly confusing and I no longer have any contact time with other apprentices in the business.

Support from KPMG is the best I have heard of and experienced. I have been treated as a human rather than a resource, given support from my immediate team as well as the apprenticeship team when I have struggled with health issues. KPMG is a rare exception in the business world, where they nurture and look after their own.

AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) were responsible for my level 3 and 4 qualifications. I found the tuition and support from tutors to be good, and there are plenty of resources to be found in the training material and on the website to prepare you for each exam. No complaints here.

Qualifications as a whole tend to focus on a larger area than you will cover in your own work. I've found the teams I've worked for to be fairly niche, and to cover a narrow area of expertise that is generally only loosely covered in level 3 and 4 qualifications. Where qualifications come into their own is providing background knowledge and flexibility when switching teams at work, as at least some aspect of the new role would have been covered previously in study material.

Social networks at KPMG seem to be pretty limited. The vast majority are related to culture and only a couple are sports related. They are advertised very badly, you have to seek them out yourself and none of my colleagues are members of any. Charity fundraising is the largest extra-curricular activity, with the yearly flagship event being a great deal of fun and a chance to utilise the 6 days of volunteering time we are given each year.

Yes

KPMG is a firm so very vast, that the opportunities provided to an apprentice at times resemble a 'choose your own adventure' type experience. The people I have met at through working here are easy to get along with and the support provided has been top notch. There are also the usual CV advantages that come from working for a big accoutning firm.

In my experience KPMG tends to look beyond outright exam performance and focuses on the individual behind them. Creative thinking is prioritised in the interview process along with your ability to work well with others. Researching the company history to demonstrate your interest is a must. Describing future ambitions that KPMG can help step you towards will also help.