Software Development Apprentice Review

It really depends on the project, in previous roles I have been involved in a range of things from testing to software development to PMO. As of now, I am "on the bench" which is when you do not have a project. During this time, we complete different training courses and apply for new roles. There is a lot of pressure to find a role despite the fact that as apprentices, we have little experience which makes us less desirable to clients. However, a lot of support is given by the company especially through our weekly calls.

Yes, on projects I've learnt a lot of technical skills which is great as I had zero background in coding prior to this. Additionally, soft skills such as communication, teamwork and also confidence have been improved. I learned really essential skills for the work place such as how I have to learn how to work even with people that I don't like.

I enjoy getting paid, the experience that I am gaining, the relationships I have formed and all the extracurriculars I can take part of in Accenture. However, there isn't really a lot of room to pursue areas that you are interested in e.g. while on the bench, you will be heavily pushed towards testing roles, etc. I think it would be a lot more enjoyable with either a rotation scheme as many other companies provide or at least senior management keeping our personal career goals and trying to make sure we have the opportunity to achieve that.

Since last year September in particular, there have been a lot of changes and uncertainty. Changes in the way the program is run, supposed salary changes, changes in leadership, changes in contract terms, etc. I think this has been very stressful especially since the apprentice leads send vague emails about big changes that affect our careers, which allows people to interpret it in different ways which builds panic and a lot of worry before finally setting up a call to address our concerns.

We receive a lot of support if we need it. When we first join, we are given a career counsellor, a HR representative and an apprentice buddy (who is basically an apprentice who joined before you). All these people can give support based on their experience and what you need help with.

University of East London can be a hit or miss, you might get an amazing lecturer for one module and a more difficult one for the next. A lot of lecturers take a while to respond to emails for help and some are just not great at teaching. However, from what I've seen so far if we raise our concerns to someone from the university managing the apprenticeship we do get support for whatever problem we're facing e.g. deadline extensions, change of lecturers, etc.

The qualification is a good foundation to build your technical career on however, how much of this you use in your day-to-day job varies. Personally, I still have not used knowledge from any of my university classes on a project. However, even if you didn't do a degree apprenticeship and went to a university of your choice, you would still find this is the same thing as technology changes at a rapid pace and university classes are rarely applied in the real work world.

Yes, there are so many to choose from. It ranges from the wine tasting club to the hockey club. Apprentice socials are regularly being arranged. There is opportunity to take part in the African Caribbean Network, Asia Pacific Network, becoming a Pride Ally or a Mental Health ally. Professionally, there are a lot of opportunities to meet up and network especially like for specific parts of the business e.g. Cloud computing networking events, DevOps, etc.

Yes

I do think it's a really good company to work for, the apprenticeship does allow you to develop your skills and the people we get to work with are generally really nice and friendly people as that is Accenture's work culture. I just think it's key for people thinking of applying to remember to manage expectations.

It's not really important to have existing technical skills or do those subjects for A Levels, just make sure you have a passion for technology and can display that in the interview e.g. reading technology magazines, building a website at home, being able to comfortably discuss key technology trends, etc. Don't be scared, make sure you come across as confident and friendly. Good luck!