Staff / Assistant Review

Service line - Digital & Technology Sub Service line - Data and Analytics The job role is generally varied and exciting, there are set cycles meaning you move role regularly which keeps things interesting. The first year is a lot of data transformation to learn the basics. Leading to more specific work in audit teams and then choosing a specific route or specialisation towards the end of the programme. Day to day is generally transforming data, visualising it for Audit teams, University or training. It changes a lot each week.

The list of new skills I have learned is endless and potentially limitless if you want to learn in your own time. They have a comprehensive online library of pretty much anything you could want to learn, from coding to career development to baking cakes, to most languages etc. EY puts a lot of emphasis on training and follows through with their promise of this. They will pay for Masters degrees, MBA's (both available to all employees after completing enough internal training) and pretty much anything you want provided you can justify a business reason. Off the top of my head, key skills developed within the first 6 months of the programme combined with University are: Software: Alteryx, Spotfire, Python, C#, Excel, Cloud, Power Bi General: Essay writing, Presenting, Time management, Teaming Personal: EY Ripples - Corporate social responsibility, EY Badges - Learning pretty much any part of the business/service lines on demand. In quiet periods of work, they let you learn, and you have the freedom to learn whatever you want (within reason), they also give you free access to things like 'Udemy' - I could write pages and pages about education at EY. The mentality at all levels puts a massive emphasis on education. If you have no interest in learning outside of your role and don't have a curiosity to learn then EY probably is not the best choice

I am in my first year so can't comment on the whole programme. The day to day role is very volume focused. I guess to make you good at your role, the learning curve is steep, it's a competitive and fast-paced environment. I would say the culture is competitive in the sense you're surrounded by high achieving people and want to be the best version of yourself - rather than underhanded. Managers/supervisors are very understanding, there is a culture of once 'you're in, you're in they will get you to the required standard and not pile pressure on you to improve. It feels like more of a team effort of 'where are you now, where do we need you to be, how are we going to get there?' That in itself makes it a really nice place to work and removes anxiety surrounding performance. There's no period of probation, once you're in, you are literally in! This probably makes the process of getting the job harder. Personally, I have not seen any other employer with no probation period.

Honestly, the organisation has been mixed. EY - Onboarding had a lot of issues, generally the programme is well structured. BPP - The Uni provider seems to be very unorganised, a bit of a running joke! Fine in the grand scheme of things. Both EY / BPP have a very clear structured programme and they fit into each other well so busy periods at work don't clash with busy periods at Uni.

At EY you have a slightly unusual structure. You have a manager and a 'Councillor' as your points of contact. The easiest way to explain this is the manager is specific to your job role and the councillor is basically a manager but usually from a different service line/office. Your manager has the business interests in mind, the councillor is very much on your side or gives an objective view/feedback. Made up example - you want time off to study for an exam, the manager would say no if work is busy, councillor would say yes as they are aligned with the bigger picture / your personal development and there would be some kind of compromise. I really like this setup - you can talk to your 'counsellor' about personal problems and it's removed from people you actually work with. In terms of Mental/Physical health, there's a free private GP benefit. Support is generally really good, have never had any complaints, there's a lot of online support which addresses training, mental health, financial etc.

You have a coach who is similar to the councillor, on your side and goes above and beyond to help in my case. There is a lot of support from BPP across everything you can think of. Mental health, learning support, LQBTQ, Transitioning, financial etc They also support you in the legal side of the apprenticeship and ensure you're not being overworked, receiving the right amount of study days. EY/BPP act as a check on each other, which generally means the service from both is better.

The qualification seems a bit separate from the role in some ways, but also very linked in others. For example, we use a programme called Alteryx to process data that is only learned at work. At Uni we learned how to write programmes in Python they are two totally different programmes but the cross over is massive. We use the cloud daily at work, we learn about it at uni. Generally seems to be quite comprehensive.

EY Ripples - CSR, helping in local/global communities Social events, nights out, meals (covid dependant), virtual events Sports teams - football, netball etc A lot of different networks - Women in tech, neurodiversity, all faiths, sustainability etc Team events, training weeks in a different office. Also, a really nice group feeling with the other apprentices, WhatsApp groups, events, helping each other at work etc. Basically anything you can think of, if not then start it!

Yes

Emphasis on quality, doing things right and not compromising on that. Emphasis on Education. Very interesting clients. Great people, culture, mentality. Feels like a long term employment choice, not just for the degree. General apprenticeship benefits. Big 4 - very employable. Easy to move departments when qualified. Clear career progression Good pay (in comparison to other apprenticeships) Good benefits

- Practice basic Maths / English before applying (first round of exams) - Interviews - Dress smart, well-lit room (if remote), relax (everyone is nice) - Be yourself - they want people from all backgrounds, religions etc don't try and 'fit in' that's the opposite of what they are looking for IMO. - Quirky hobbies/interests stand out and are encouraged - don't worry about them being a bit out there. - They honestly do not want the standard, stereotypical finance employee, they care about diversity in every sense of the word. - All strength-based interviews, be clear on what these are and be honest about a weakness. Have a good answer for how you're trying to address it. Makes sure they are aligned with the service line, for example being bad at maths isn't ideal for a data analytics apprenticeship. - Have a good answer for what you've learned/changed/developed over lockdown periods in Covid - Emphasise your love of education and back it up. (start a new language, take an online course, read a book, anything as long as you can talk about it) - How do you impact the wider world? Volunteering, Charity etc. If you don't do any of the above its not too late to start, then just say ' I recently signed up to do this or that' The questions that will almost certainly come up ... Why EY - What can you give them, what can they give you. Why Apprenticeship - a better answer than save cash, they want confidence youre genuinely interested / will complete it. Why this service line/office - if they ask if you'd be flexible on this then and you've just spent 20 mins saying why you love London / Analytics then probably a bad idea to say yes! Strengths - Specific to service line ideally Weakness - how are you making this a strength What do you do outside of work? What makes you individual? What did you do/learn over Covid