Associate Software Quality Engineer Apprentice Review

I have joined Pearson mid-September 2023 as an Associate Software Quality Engineer Apprentice with no prior experience in the field, which required me to learn everything from scratch. Since then I have been a part of a complex on-going project, and my day-to-day duties include attending daily catch-up meetings with the project team to discuss what everyone will be working on that day - this is also a good opportunity to bring up any technical issues that might have occurred and may be affecting our work. I also attend a bi-weekly stand-up call with the wider QA team to keep everyone in the loop on the progress of our projects. The day-to-day scope of work depend on the current phase of the release. For example, during the development stage, the majority of my day consists of picking up any outstanding testing work - analysing user stories and writing test cases, and then executing manual tests once the stories are ready for testing. As an apprentice, every week I get 1 off-the-job training day that I spend completing any apprenticeship work, such as assignments and independent studies.

The training I’m getting during the apprenticeship programme is invaluable. I have learnt an array of new skills within a short period of time. The apprenticeship's curriculum aligns with the ISTQB syllabus, covering everything that is required to be a successful Software Tester. I have passed my ISTQB exam and earned a professional certification within 8 months of starting the learning programme, which is incredible. However, the classes were not only useful for the ISTQB exam itself, but also enabled me to get a grasp on what my job entails, clarified the different phases of daily project work, allowing to understand the structure of the processes better, and put a name to activities that are being performed day-to-day. Another part of the apprenticeship's curriculum focuses on learning programming (the language is chosen based on discussions with the management and depend on the business's needs, the options are Java, Python, C#). I have also attended an additional session to learn SQL, which was very helpful.

The apprenticeship programme is phenomenal, there are plenty of opportunities to learn new skills and apply them in the day-to-day job. It is really rewarding to see that what I'm learning is actually useful, and it's great to be able to apply my knowledge. I can always count on getting further support from my work colleagues, other apprentices, and my apprenticeship coach, so if I am ever stuck or unsure, there is plenty of people that I can reach out to. Pearson also organises a variety of events for its employees and apprentices, which gives us further opportunities to network and meet new people.

The programme is very well structured. As I mentioned earlier, the apprenticeship entails 6 months of ISTQB aligned classes, followed by 3 months of programming classes. Further to this, I get 1 day a week to complete my off-the-job training. I also have regular reviews with my apprenticeship coach and line manager to evaluate my progress.

My employer is very supportive, this includes my line manager who is actively involved in all my progress reviews with the apprenticeship coach, where we discuss my progress. If there's any areas I need to work on, my line manager will provide me with the opportunities to practice and improve my skills. My colleague's support is also incredible in terms of any knowledge transfer opportunities, as well as helping with more trivial things - I don't ever have to be afraid that my question is too silly to ask, everyone is always more than happy to help.

The training provider is extremely helpful. I can always contact them whenever I need any guidance, and if there's anything extra that I wish to learn, they are happy to organise a coaching session on the chosen subject. They are also very accommodating when it comes to adjusting assignment deadlines - e.g., if the assignment requires any specific areas that I've not been exposed to yet.

Most things that I'm learning in my apprenticeship classes can be applied in my daily job, which is great as it helps me understand all the concepts better when I can apply them in real-life scenarios. I said 'most things' as the classes cover a broad variety of concepts that we should be aware of as testers, but what we actually use in daily work can vary not only from company to company, but also from project to project. For example, my project specifically would not benefit from the use of certain test design techniques due to the nature of the application, whereas it will be very valuable for other project.

There is a range of events that we can get involved in. The technology team meets up monthly for a 'Tech Get Together' in the office, where we first attend a meeting to provide us with a brief on what's been going on in the department, and after that we can utilise the rest of the day for collaboration with other colleagues. Sometimes we simply work together and share ideas, every now and again a meal is organised for everyone so that we can get to know each other better. Apart from that, there are special events for apprentices that are organised every few months, where we can talk to other apprentices and share our experiences. Pearson also provides plenty of volunteering opportunities for its employees, which we're encouraged to partake in.

Yes

Pearson truly is a great place to work at, it's a company that has a solid purpose and values. Working here gives me a great sense of accomplishment, as I feel that my input, no matter how small, contributes to a great cause, which is enabling people across the globe with access to education. Further to this, Pearson focuses not only on providing the learning resources to their customers, but also a lot of attention goes into the employees’ L&D. We are actively encouraged to better ourselves by learning new skills. There's also a big focus on the employee's wellbeing, which is so extremely important. Another important factor for me is that our hard work and accomplishments are always acknowledged and recognised.

I can only speak from the apprentice's point of view, where the hard skills were not as important in my application since I was to be taught everything from scratch, but I can surely say that the main success factors are definitely a drive for learning and curiosity. Soft skills are increasingly of more importance these days, so I would definitely make sure to list these on the CV as these can be transferrable even when you come from a different line of work. Be sure to present yourself in a professional manner and remember to be genuine.