Software Engineer Apprentice Review

Role depends on what team you are put in. I have worked in a scrum team, developing and fixing bugs. I join multiple meetings each day, involving designing, developing and fixing aspects of the project being worked on. As you progress and your gain skills, you are given more responsibilities.

I'm in my eighth month of the apprenticeship, and I have learned a variety of technical skills and soft skills. Some of these include my programming ability improving dramatically, learning about business process and delivery, communication, configuring routers, performing cyber security scans and fixing vulnerabilities and working with databases.

I enjoy this program greatly. Meeting a broad range of people; people from different teams, other apprentices, creates a positive atmosphere and gives me greater insight into the inner-workings of business. The instructors teaching the degree program are very flexible and always adjust for different circumstances. Learning new things everyday on the job creates a great educational experience.

The program is very well-structured. Flexibility is given by our employer, so our 20% of study per week can be taken in any way. The time taken to complete the degree is the shortest that I have seen out of any degree apprenticeship (3-years, up-to 4-years for additional flexibility). Extensions and adjustments are always made to course assignments when necessary.

The support system at Vodafone is outstanding. I have weekly 1-2-1 meeting with my manager to voice any concerns as well as to keep track of my progress. There is many people in my team who I can contact if issues arise or if guidance is needed, and people across Vodafone who can support in a variety of areas.

The support from the training provider is very good. There are progress tutors and instructors that can be contact who act as support for everything study-related. Q&A sessions are consistently held to answer the questions of students and review meetings are held to track progress and for the voicing of any concerns.

There have been some occasions when my studies have helped my performance at work. It improved my ability to code somewhat, and has given me some knowledge in databases. The degree is more of a general supplementation; it gives you background knowledge of computing while work gives more practical and technical skills.

There are many different communities at Vodafone. Using social media, access to different social events is easy. One big community that I am apart of is Vodafone youth, which hosts regular social events. Working remote is a large part of Vodafone's system, so the biggest challenge can be commuting to get to these events.

Yes

The career opportunities, culture and community are outstanding. Working at Vodafone, you will immediately feel welcomed when you join, and there are plenty of social events to network. There is room to progress in the company, managers are very supportive and help to guide you to develop technically and find new opportunities.

Comprehension, problem solving, creativity and emotional intelligence will be looked for when applying to Vodafone. Record yourself answering difficult questions and try to answer them with concise, detailed responses. Ensure that you have been consistently practicing problem-solving, this could be through subjects that your studying or through projects that you're working on.