Digital Apprentice Review
at EY
Degree Apprenticeship
Accounting
Manchester
Review Submitted: March 2022
Overall Rating
2.6 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
1.5/5
-
Overview of Role
3/5
-
Skills Development
2.8/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
2/5
Cleansing and formatting data to input into analysers for audit teams to better understand finances of a client before completing the audit.
Managing client portfolios(involves a lot of liaising with audit teams and clients) from planning the analytic requirements for each audit team and ensuring smooth processing all the way till the analysers are delivered.
Managing client portfolios(involves a lot of liaising with audit teams and clients) from planning the analytic requirements for each audit team and ensuring smooth processing all the way till the analysers are delivered.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
1/5
It has been a great opportunity to get into the big 4, however the few benefits have not been worth the stress and anxiety. I have met some great people and had some great experiences but the ridiculous hours and pressure put on the employees seems inhumane at times, all for the sake of corporate goals. Work life balance doesn't exist at all and at times you can feel unvalued.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
3/5
Developed a lot of new skills during the apprenticeship, especially within the analytics rotation from technical software skills to interpersonal skills. the Audit rotation did not allow for any development as noone was willing to spend their time to coach Digital apprentices knowing they would end up working in the analytics team.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
2/5
At the beginning there was no structure at all but this has improved over the past year. There is a little more clarity, however there are still many blind spots which not even management have answers for. It would be nice to have transparency on all matters and decisions instead of vague non-answers just to keep us quiet till they figure things out. It sometimes feels like we're not given the support a guidance needed to create our own careers.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
3/5
i guess it depends on who you ask and at what point. There is the perception that there is always support from everyone but this is not always the case. support is provided by certain individuals more than others and it all depends on the circumstance. I wouldn't go as far as saying i feel supported always but sometimes.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
4/5
A lot of support has been provided from training providers. As with all things there have been some areas lacking such as communication etc. but overall they have been great with providing the assistance needed for the completion of the qualification. We can contact them at any time and they will help as best as possible.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
1/5
Personally I don't see a lot of overlap in the qualification and my day to day job role. They feel like 2 seperate parts of the apprenticeship that may occasionally link in some small way. the qualification does not really add to my skills needed for my role and honestly i believe that i could with high standards complete this role without the qualification. The study aspect feels more like a few days breather from the corporate role.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
4/5
Yes - Granted covid has restricted these since I joined the programme, there have been a few invites to social gatherings. I'm not sure if there are sports teams but there is always some sort of networking going on welcome to all. We do have regular virtual gatherings also to catch up
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend EY to a friend?
No
Why?
Although this has been a great opportunity, I don't believe it is what I would love to do for the rest of my life. it has been a struggle to even get this far with the constant highs and lows of the resturcturing of the programme. it is still it in it's early days and there have been a lot of problems. i feel the demand of hours they ask of their emplyees is absurd given the low pay. Additaional hours worked are not paid a penny more and it always comes with added pressure/frustrations from other EY staff. Generally, this has not been the best experience and i have only stayed as it is covid times and getting another job at this moment is extremely tough.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to EY?
Make sure you speak to EY employees still in the role to ensure you are aware of what you are headed towards. It is important to be aware as I was oblivious to what the role would entail and have found it incredibly soul crushing. If you are eager to join the big 4, be ready for what that entails. it will come with it's drawbacks and benefits, but make sure you are ready for both.
