Technology Degree Apprentice Review

My current role is in the Risk - Cyber business unit where I help teams in the advisory sector that deal with clients either in proposals or the actual solution that has been agreed upon between the client and PwC. I will also rotate into the global team which is internal facing and helping cyber solutions within the company.

I have learnt a range of business skills such presentations, speaking with clients and team members, working professionally etc. I have also developed technical skills and knowledge in areas such as programming, databases and software development lifecycle in our initial launchpad training and also cloud computing and security in our recent week at college.

I enjoy the work first approach of the programme while still gaining a degree qualification at the end of the programme. Furthermore, the business culture is very friendly and I haven't had to have any difficult conversations so far as an apprentice. There is tons of support and PwC also allow us to work flexibly which allows me to easily continue my commitments outside of work as well.

The programme is well structured, despite it being the first work based technology degree apprenticeship at PwC and from all the advice from senior colleagues, a lot of apprentices end up working towards certifications alongside their work and college assignments. For example, in the first month we were registered for the CISMP training and exam which many of the cyber apprentices passed first time.

We receive lots of support from our employer and all the colleagues that we work with. As they know we are apprentices, they don't expect you to do everything perfectly first time and try to build up your confidence with simpler tasks before giving more independent and wider variety of tasks so that we can build our skills from experience as well as challenge ourselves to do more.

We receive a lot of support from our training provider as they have quarterly check-ins with us and the employer as well as frequent contact with us even when we are at work. Our college teacher helped us register for the AZ-900 exam as it is pushed for their students and the learning we did that week contributed to 50% of the exam content.

The qualification I am working towards helps me a lot as it is aligned to what I am working on in the workplace and the technical knowledge in all subjects helps towards understanding businesses and their security needs. Also, the wider knowledge may also help me if I want to change role in the future.

There are many activities to get involved in all the time. In December, I went to the London Christmas party which was at an arcade and recently I went to an escape room for the first time with the cyber business unit in the Manchester office where we set a new record for one of the rooms.

Yes

Because of the friendly working culture which is not always the case at other companies. There are also so many opportunities at PwC which allow you to get involved in new experiences and also enjoy coming into work and building relationships with your colleagues. The business and technical skills gained at PwC will also be valuable to any other jobs you apply to in the future.

When applying to PwC, research the company and try find people who work there to get an insight into the company environment and if it is where you would like to work. Then you should research the company values and ensure that they match with you as a person and how you implement them/improve on them. The final thing is to be yourself as at PwC it is important to be authentic and comfortable while working.