Software Development Apprenticeship Review

As a software development apprentice my role is to create easy-to-understand, reusable and tested code. The day-to-day involves participating in daily scrums, following the agile methodology, then going into pairs/trios to work on given tasks.

Definitely. I didn't come from a tech background, so pretty much everything was new to me. I've definitely learned a lot and the pace was good and tailored to each of the apprentices' current level of experience.

It's a great opportunity and Sky really does offer a nice environment for the apprentices to develop their skills, in a collaborative, non-competitive way. It's a non-blame culture.

I think the programme was well structured. 5 weeks of bootcamp, 8 months of projects with other grads and apprentices, 8/9 remaining months working with other delivery teams.

10/10 from Sky.

I think this is the weaker part of the apprenticeship. I thought the bootcamp wasn't well structured, going from too easy at the very start, to extremely challenging towards the middle/end, so I thought it benefited more people who already had more coding experience. Very little teaching and too much time on our own figuring out what to do by ourselves, when I barely knew any coding. The instructor was knowledgeable and available, but I think the problem was with the structure itself. Also, we had a bunch of other apprentices from other companies at the same time, so it was impossible to tailor the learning modules towards everyone.

I think it's an amazing opportunity and a great alternative to university, as the program only lasts 18 months and you get promoted to an associate developer at the end, given you pass all the requirements. Compared to university, this offers a lot more real-life experience, as you get involved with real projects from the start. The downside is that you don't get to learn about computer science to a more fundamental level when compared to university, which can be important.

Yes, although covid made everything a bit more difficult. There are opportunities to get involved in extra--curricular activities, both at Sky and at Multiverse.

Yes

Sky offers a great environment for me to learn and develop my skills. It really has a no-blame culture, everyone works together, and it is a fun place. Sky promotes hybrid working, but incentivises staff to come to the office when they can. My office is nice and modern, and you don't need to dress up in fancy clothes. You can also progress quickly.

Sky is all about working with other people, so when applying for a software development apprenticeship at Sky it is more important to have the right attitude than have amazing coding skills, as these can/will be taught.