Technology Degree Apprentice Review

I'm a 2nd year apprentice, so I am still attending university just like any other student would. So my day to day currently consists of going to lectures and enjoying the university social life! I don't have to complete any work for PwC until the summer placement.

I've been studying towards my Azure Fundamentals certification in my free time, which the company is paying for.

So far I have very much enjoyed my programme. Being able to go to university without having to worry about anything at work is a nice benefit that other degree apprenticeship programmes may not have. Also, during my first summer placement, I had the chance to travel to different PwC offices such as Manchester and London, while getting put in nice hotels and getting food expensed. What's not to like?

Our programme is very structured. There is a clear separation between work and university. We only have to do work related to PwC during the summer placement and our year long placement. In the interim, we study as university students just like anyone else. While starting placement, we were also given a number of days to learn about how the company works and we had workshops on how the tools used within the company work.

UoB has a new programme coordinator, Scarlett, who has been doing a fantastic job listening to our concerns and actively trying to improve our experience. She is very approachable and is always willing to go above and beyond to help us out with whatever concerns we may have. The change to have a dedicated contact at each university instead of a central team was a very good decision as it allows there to be a much better relationship between students at the university and people from the programme team.

There is a good support network that exists at UoB. We have a few direct contacts that we can always go to if we are ever unsure. In particular, Vincent from UoB has been very helpful this year with organising calls to make sure everyone is on track. University staff have also been checking up on us when we miss lectures to ensure everyone's wellbeing.

There is some relevance with what we are learning at university and what we do in our jobs. For example, last year we had an SQL module and a lot of people had to use SQL during their placement. However, there are also some modules which are outdated and no longer relevant to current industry practices.

While on placement in the summer, we had the opportunity to join a number of different sport teams that play in the office. For example, there were sessions for football, rugby, cricket and many more. It is also easy to setup a sport that you think there would be an interest for. There were also quite a few socials during this time where we could network with other people in the office or members within our team.

Yes

It's a fantastic opportunity if you were ever considering to attend university to study anything technology related (e.g. computer science, data science etc). The benefits are great, you get paid far more than you would receive from Student Finance, your summer placements and a year long placement is sorted for you (no need to go through the stress of applying and interviewing at different company), and most importantly of all you get a graduate offer lined up for you.

Take your time to understand the values of PwC. Research into what it means to be a PwC professional. These are important values to show when you are being interviewed, especially at the assessment centre. Most importantly, be a team player. The culture at PwC is very collaborative so if you are able to demonstrate this, it will put you in a good position.