Apprentice, Professional Accounting Technician Review

At the beginning of the day I will look at the time that external contractors have booked into our system. It is my job to approve these times if they are correct and there is no human error involved. Depending on the amount of bookings this can take a while with 200 contractors. I will then usually check my emails to see if there are any queries regarding particular costs or anything else. I am in frequent contact with the IT controlling team as I create project cost reports for them on a regular basis as well as assist them with the time bookings. After these things, I will then look at the budgets and actuals for the functions I have been assigned and see whether they are overspending/underspending when compared to their budget and the reasons as to why this could be happening. Currently, I am also assisting in the tracking of costs for bigger projects that span across the entire company.

I have learnt a variety of new skills from this job especially as it is my first. A large number of these skills relate to some of the IT systems we use in addition to analysis and communication skills. Working alongside qualified accountants really allows me to understand what exactly I am looking at, how to analyse the costs and then how to communicate this to other people outside of the team.

I really enjoy this programme as I am working towards a qualification in a role that I am passionate about and interested in, as well as being able to work in a business that has great personal development and training opportunities throughout the year. Also, the energy and trading sector itself is ever-changing, and allows for you to learn about aspects of the business outside of just you role.

I think that the programme is well organised/structured and allows me to understand what the business expects of me, what I should expect of the business, what I am aiming to complete in my two years and the support that is available in the event that it is needed.

The support I receive from my employer is more than I expected. Anytime you are in need of some help they are always available. It is especially nice working with such a great team and colleagues throughout the business in general as the culture feels as though everyone is willing to help.

My training provider has a vast amount of resources available that mean you are never without something helpful. If the resources somehow did not cover a topic that you could not understand or if you were stuck, you can contact someone through the website and organise a talk with them to go through the questions you cannot understand. I would say the amount of support I receive is good.

I think that qualification is incredibly helpful in performing better in my role. Each time I study a module in one of my courses I feel as though I can instantly implement and understand it because I already have seen similar aspects of it in the workplace. It is perfect to build the knowledge and develop myself in my role as I can learn new knowledge and then instantly apply it and understand what is behind the work I am doing and why is it being done.

There are always social activities taking place at work typically on a monthly basis. There are upcoming apprentice assessment centres where the apprentices can help with the potential apprentices coming in for the day. There are 5vs5 football games on every week that you can join and the networking opportunities seem endless. You have constant coffee breaks set up with random people that you can join to meet new colleagues or even bigger teams calls with entire controlling departments.

Yes

I think that the people you will end up working with are phenomenal and very accommodating. Everyone is willing to take time out of their day to help you with something or teach you something new. The opportunities inside the business to employees is outstanding, with overseas job positions, personal development through training sessions, the vast amount of knowledge that you learn whilst you are there. Best of all, you get to network with incredibly smart people in a major business working towards a goal that we can all get behind.

If you are looking to apply to RWE Supply and Trading I would say that it is crucial to be honest on your CV and in your interview. Make sure that you are confident when you are speaking, that you are willing to learn and that you can work in a team. I know people find it difficult to believe that being honest in an interview will help but it certainly did for me. Make sure that you can admit to your faults and are willing to learn from them and be better for next time.