Intern Review
at PwC
Degree Apprenticeship
Information Technology
Leeds
Review Submitted: April 2022
Overall Rating
3.7 /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!
2.5/5
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Overview of Role
5/5
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Skills Development
3.8/5
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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
Project work in Alteryx or Power BI to solve tasks set by other parts of the company. This involves meeting with my manager to arrange workload and responsibility, meeting with other staff with knowledge on the matter to work out how to do the tasks. I had no external communications.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
I don't enjoy the work that much, it feels intangible and invaluable. Most of the work is quite boring and especially because I started out with a team remotely, I missed the more fun social side of the work. That being said the other people on my course make it enjoyable as we have lots of socials and it is more fun to work with them.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
We had a very loving period at the start of the first placement, soley for skill development. We were able to spend time developing skills that we wanted to improve as well as some company specific ones. We were also offered lots of certifications and examinations for free to bolster out employability.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
2/5
Poorly structured. On my first day of placement, I heard nothing all morning so I had to message someone that appeared to be my manager from one website that I had come across by chance and it was a surprise to him that I was to be working for him too but he took me on anyway. We are all assigned buddy's at the start as well and I talked to mine for weeks until I was told that someone else was actually my buddy and I needed to liaise with them instead.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
They offer a lot of support both physically with things like technology and mentally with healthcare services and meditation apps. If I have an issue I know I can go to the course co-ordinator and talk about it to try and resolve it. However sometimes it feels embarrassing to go to them everytime there is a small issue as quite a few do arise
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
5/5
Lots of support. We were offered ample time within our working hours to take workshops and seminars aimed at teaching us various topics within qualifications of our choosing. The teaching given from internal sources was of good quality and energy. Alongside this larger group support, they also offered 1 to 1 help.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
3/5
Many roles we are being placed on within PwC do not align very well at all with the skills we are acquiring within university. For example, PwC got us qualified on a drag and drop - no code - data manipulation tool despite us being trained and graded on our coding ability within university.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
Yes lots. There is a team of people on the apprenticeship across multiple years who have the responsibility of organising these social events and they are given a budget of which to use to make them more enjoyable too. This side of things is excellent thanks to the involvement of the students in the planning.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend PwC to a friend?
No
Why?
The work is mundane and feels like it amounts to very little real world value. The company culture is okay but starting in a new team online proved to cause many issues surrounding social enjoyment. The other students make this apprenticeship tolerable but if it weren't for the monetary support PwC offer me as a student, I doubt I would continue working for them.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to PwC?
The application process requires you to show more soft skills around your communication skills with others and time management - technical skills are much less important to them. You will receive lots of opportunities when working with them, of which you should try take up as many as you would enjoy - but try not to take on too much.
