Accounting
everything you need during your apprenticeship,” Davies confirms. The firm recruits around 100 apprentices annually and has a four-stage selection process that includes
have school-leaver programmes in audit, tax and advisory, which are Level 7 apprenticeships aligned to individual professional qualifications,” she says. “For example, those on the tax programme could
an application form, online tests, a virtual assessment centre, and a final-round face-to-face interview with one of BDO’s partners or directors. “Our latest intake of apprentices had a two-day induction to
be studying towards the Association of Taxation (ATT) and Chartered
Apprenticeships are a quicker route to becoming a fully- qualified chartered accountant
Institute of Taxation (CTA) qualifications,” she continues.
The firm has a ‘match-me’ tool on its website, with questions to help applicants determine which programme they’re best suited- to and has a selection of videos explaining what different teams and divisions within the firm do. “You don’t have to have any prior experience of accountancy in order to apply – or have studied maths or business at A-level – you’ll be taught
the firm at Wembley Stadium, before they began work at their individual offices around the country,” recalls Davies. Apprentices are enrolled into college and have a mix of classroom and online learning during regular blocks of study throughout the apprenticeship. “One of the highlights for our apprentices is
The last stage was a one-on-one interview. I’d been very nervous about it, as it was face-to-face with KPMG’s head of data analytics. But finding out the head was a woman helped me feel more at ease, because it showed there was a diverse environment at the firm. As well as my offer from KPMG, I ended up with four offers from other companies I’d applied to. When I was deciding which one to accept, I thought about whether the qualification at the end of the degree apprenticeship would hold-up against a degree from a traditional institution? And I looked at whether it would be somewhere I’d have an opportunity to grow and progress? Did I see people like me in managerial positions? What is the company culture really like? That was definitely the hardest to find out, because all employers say they’re inclusive. To find out more I reached out to employees on LinkedIn and spoke to people face-to-face to see what working at the company was actually like, and that was invaluable. Unlike most data analytics degree apprenticeships available
However, my Mum encouraged me to take a gap year – she did one when she finished school and said it helped her learn a lot more about herself. I spent my gap year working for a charity that helps get more girls into STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers. I got to see all the different parts of the charity and really took an interest in the data work. My boss there knew I wasn’t 100% certain about doing a pharmacy degree, and she suggested I should look into doing data as a career instead. That was when I first found out about degree apprenticeships and discovered around 40 companies that had data analytics apprenticeships. I started applying to them and was really determined to get a place. It was a really challenging process, especially compared to applying for universities, where you just submit one personal statement. For my KPMG application, I completed their online form, did a recorded video interview and some qualitative and quantitative tests, and then a case study group exercise.
Degree Apprentice
Brook Lorde Audit Data Analytics Degree Apprentice KPMG
“
I grew up and attended school in London. In sixth form I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but I enjoyed biology and chemistry. I applied to study both pharmacy and medicine at university and ended up accepting an offer to study a master’s in pharmacy from University College London.
28 Degree Apprenticeships
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online