Business Academy Student Review

During my week as a Business Academy Student I was given many different tasks depending on the day and got to speak to multiple different EY employees at all stages in their career which was very insightful. The main task that ran through the entire week was a presentation that we had to do on a topic given to us and present at the end of the week. I enjoyed researching this and developing my presentation as the week progressed but I also had the opportunity to work on real client work in the assurance service line and was assessed on my reactions to different scenarios that could arise working in assurance at EY which I was then given feedback on to help with my development. The week was not boring at any point and provided a multitude of opportunities for me to improve myself and get some experience before even starting Year 13.

I learnt and developed many skills as the week progressed both specific to accountancy (reading financial statements, audit reports etc) but also that will help me in any professional role such as the ability to present a powerpoint, confidence and writing style. The 'virtual learning sessions' that had to be completed as part of the program was most beneficial for this and were presented in a concise but informative way.

There was certainly an element of nerves on my first day before entering the office but after my induction day this was decreased significantly and replaced with enjoyment as I was given more work to do and the ability to show my skills such as the presentation and scenario task. By the end of my week I noticed just how much I have enjoyed the program and will miss not having the opportunity to continue developing my skills in the same way for the rest of summer.

While in the office the team I was with were very good at making sure we had everything we needed to complete our tasks and chatting with us in general. They took us out for paid lunches on three of the five days and discussed the plans we had after A levels during these. We certainly weren't left without support at any point with the buddy and counsellor scheme so all round I felt I was very supported during my time at EY.

For the majority of my time in the Business Academy it felt to have a consistent structure such as the inductions and scenario task that I believe was developed for me and the other students. We were given our own email adress and laptop upon our arrival showing the planning that had been undertaken. We were consistently given reminders on our calendars for any events we had coming up and overall it felt like a very structured experience.

n/a

EY set up a buddy and a counsellor for me as a business academy student which meant I always had support and someone to turn to when I needed it and never felt as if I was left to my own devices. I was given an office tour to show me where everything was to help me settle in on my first day and overall I felt the support I recieved was definitely sufficient for the time I spent here.

I had very low travel costs for the week but the salarly would easily cover anyones travel costs as well as the days I had to purchase my own lunch (which was less than half!). As this is a programme for year 12 students I feel the salarly is more than adequate and this is an opporunity I would have taken without payment; as I have done with other accountancy firms.

As I was only here for a week there were very few opporunities outside of work apart from the lunches that EY provided which were good opportunities to socialise both about the business apprenticeship I could apply to and in a more relaxed way too. I heard about other opporunities the staff have outside of work, that they organise themselves and that the firm organises.

Yes

I feel the people culture at EY is great and really beneficial for a workplace to have such a friendly group that will welcome you in the way I felt welcomed as a business academy student. This is something I would definitely look for in an employer and I feel others should too hence why I would recommend EY to any of my friends applying for a job in one of their service lines.

I felt the EY application process was quite pleasant and really gives the opportunity for you to show your ability which should not be taken for granted when applying for EY. I would make sure to always be yourself if you were applying to EY and use what your good at to your advantage as there is no single type of person who works at EY so you don't need to be like someone else to get a job here.