Flying Start Degree programme - FS2 Newcastle Review

I worked as part of the Centre of Excellence team at PwC. This involved working on certain parts of the overall audit, being Pensions, Tax and Share based payments. I was working on Pensions mostly but I also started Tax work on my placement this year. Day to day this involved working with different teams across the country to perform high quality documentation on these sections of the overall audit.

I have learnt how to use various different softwares that PwC use within their audit on a day to day basis. I developed my excel skills a lot over placement as I used it everyday. I also learnt how to use the new alteryx software which I had never used before.

I really enjoy my programme as it gives a perfect balance of university life and a full time job. The three months you get on placement really give you a taste for what it is like to work full time and the programme sets you up very well for the future.

The programme is structured very well as it gives a good balance of university and having a full time job. I like how it is split out with two terms at university and one term being on placement experiencing what it is like to work full time without having other commitments like uni work at the same time.

We receive a lot of support from our employer throughout our placement. They ensure this by providing us with various people and teams that you can reach out to support whether it is your buddy, career coach, flying start champion or just anyone in the office who are always happy to help.

We receive a lot from our training provider when working towards our qualifications as we have access to all the materials supplied by the ICAEW as well as all of the material we get from the university including lectures workbooks and question banks which really help when preparing for exams

The qualification from the training provider will really help me in my role and will help me to perform better as it is directly relevant to what I have worked on over placement and what I will hopefully be working on in the future so it will help me keep developing my skills so that I can only improve

As it was busy season during my placement I didn't manage to get involved in much but there are various activities you can get involved in. I played football with people in the office a few times on a Monday evening and there are various socials that take place where you can go to meet new people and get to know the people you are working with in a non working environment

Yes

I would highly recommend PwC to anyone that is looking to work in this sort of area. This is because they offer great support to all employees and have a casual working environment which won't make you feel stressed or overworked. Everyone there is also really nice and welcoming when you first start the job so it won't take anyone long to settle in when starting up.

Advice I would give to anyone applying to PwC would be to interact with as many people as possible whenever you get the chance as networking is a great way to get started in this area of business and can really help you go a long way as you progress in your career