My PwC Apprenticeship Journey So Far
When I applied to join PwC’s London tax practice as an apprentice in November 2019 I certainly didn’t anticipate that after nearly 5 months of working for the firm I would have visited the office only 4 times and would be still yet to meet over half of my team in person. The experience of starting as an apprentice in the COVID-19 world has been a challenging but enjoyable one, and for every challenge I have faced so far starting my career from home there is also a lesson in resilience and adaptability.
I knew as soon as I left college in 2015 that university probably wasn’t for me and that was when I started looking into apprenticeships as they offered a great mix of hands on experience, paid work and professional qualifications. After 4 years of travelling and working, both abroad and in the UK, I decided to apply. Having enjoyed Business Studies at college I knew I wanted to go into business and finance and the chance to work for a ‘Big 4’ accountancy firm with some of the best businesses in the world suited what I was looking for perfectly. After passing through the initial applications, video interviews and finally the assessment centre I was offered a place to study for the ATT qualification in PwC’s Global Mobility Services team.
My team provides tax advice to the biggest financial services companies in the UK and their employees. We deal with both inbound and outbound business travellers to and from the UK and we advise on the UK tax and social security implications of their moves. A typical day for me could include calls with my client’s employees to discuss their upcoming moves, client and team meetings to discuss ongoing work and also working with more senior team members to prepare deliverable client work. The fact that I am only an apprentice does not prevent me from getting involved in projects. Since I started my colleagues have made a great effort to include me in what they’re working on and because of this I have already been exposed to many different clients and deliverables and the work I’m doing is both challenging and rewarding.
After my two year apprenticeship is complete and I have received my qualification I look forward to working my way up to a Managerial role in my team and maybe studying further to becoming a Chartered Tax Advisor. I certainly feel that there is a lot of opportunity to try new things at PwC, in such a big company with a global reach there is always projects to get involved in and new things to try. Having a widely recognised professional qualification and the invaluable experience that goes with it will also stand me in good stead for the future.
In the coming years of my apprenticeship and as COVID-19 restrictions relax I hope to get into the office full time and start to be able to visit my clients. For now though, working from home is forcing me to be more independent in my approach to work and learning new things and with help from my buddy, career coach and colleagues I am surprised at just how much I have learnt in such a short space of time. To anyone considering applying for an apprenticeship, even during these testing times, I say go for it.