Associate Review

Currently I work for the Operational Delivery team, where I am in charge of finances for engagements within the department. This means, every week, I have to check that engagement finances are in line with projections and that they are keeping to budget and ensure reporting is done accurately.

I have learnt a lot of new skills with regards to financial reporting and other element surrounding finance. I have not had a chance in previous job roles to do this. I have developed my communication skills both written and verbal, more so written as I send a lot of emails.

I really enjoy my programme as it combines elements of work based and taught learning. There is a lot of reflection which is a hard task to get used to however, as it isn't something you typically do to that extent within the workplace, but it is a useful tool.

The programme does not seem to very well structured as we are mixed in two separate cohorts with separate understandings of how different elements of the course work. This has created confusion amongst the new starters within the department and can lead to some discrepancies which have not worked well for us.

I receive quite a lot of support from my employer, they are very flexible with study days and are able to flex my workload around what I have on at any given time. This is great for me as it means I never have to worry about what university tasks I have to do.

The university lecturers have been quite slow in response to my emails regarding questions around assignments and I haven't received as much support as I would have liked. If I could change one thing about the course it would be the lecturers giving more support to the the students.

Due to being in the first year of my apprenticeship I currently do not feel as though what I am studying helps me in my apprenticeship. I do believe some of the later modules will contribute to this, however I don't currently believe that the reflection modules are helping me.

There are a LOT of extra curricular activities to get involved in at EY and it is a great company in terms of that. There are plenty of social activities (funded by the company I might add) and you get CSR days to volunteer and help the local community which is great.

Yes

The company has an overwhelming focus on its employees and it really does show. The working culture is great and the work-life balance is fantastic, despite the training provider not being the best this isn't down to EY by any means and I would not hold this against them.

Make sure you do your research on the company and what it is we do before applying as some people have not been clued up during the interview process. This will help you massively in your induction if you have a background context to what it is that we do.