Talent Academy Review

Variety of activities that not only allowed us to get to know one another as a group and break the ice but also give a real insight into the different roles at PwC. Really felt valued as a participant as we were catered for so well and could definitely see evidence of the PwC values within the staff's attitude towards us and morale.

Felt welcome the minute we stepped through the door and even before this as there was a lot of communication and assessment feedback to always keep us in the know. Staff were visible at all times throughout the two days if we ever needed them and you really felt as if it was very important to them that we both enjoyed the experience and got a lot from it.

Experts from relevant departments were on hand during the interactive workshops and always seemed approachable if you didn't understand something or had a query. All staff, from reception staff all the way up to partners, were happy to offer any support we needed and did so in an insightful yet honest manner that meant we felt we were receiving unbiased guidance.

Has 100% helped me to focus which career area I would like to explore further. This will help when looking at work experience and even choosing modules that will most interest me now. This was really significant for me as before the Talent Academy I wasn't sure at all what I wanted to do and my mind has been put at rest now I've found something that really interests me.

Plans for the two days were clearly laid out to us from the beginning and we partook in a wide range of activities and tasks without feeling too drained at the end of each day. Each session was broken up clearly and breaks were offered, everything ran on time. The only thing I would suggest was that perhaps slightly too much time was given to the presentation preparation and this could have been halved and allowed for another skill session.

So much friendlier and welcoming than I expected! Was worried I would feel out of my depth but all the delegates and staff were down to earth and happy to have a conversation. All of us candidates really bonded over the two days, something I think helped by the meal and overnight stay. Atmosphere was very light and enjoyable, could have stayed longer!

Obviously there's only so much that can be done in a two day period but the Tax and Assurance Interactive Sessions really helped to develop what we knew about the two services. We were given sound advice from existing employees after our presentations which was really valuable. I'd say the programme developed knowledge more than skills but at such an early stage and in only a few days, this is sufficient and I still found it very helpful

Got a real sense for the atmosphere in a PwC office and how the day to day runnings proceed. Spoke to employees of all different roles and levels who gave us their view on how they found working for PwC but did so in an honest manner, I.e. Admitted that it can be stressful from Jan-March.

PwC values and competencies made very clear from the beginning and reinforced in almost every activity we did. Staff at all levels seemed to refer back to these values, which showed consistency throughout the firm and that these were of genuine importance to PwC and not just a model used for show. Found the exercise on being able to talk about and use examples of these values (PwC Professional) extremely useful for any future interviews.

Walked in without a clue what or who I wanted to base my future career around, walked out determined to get more experience of assurance and hopefully with a firm like PwC. Specific sessions were so informative to show the skills used and what a normal day looks like that I think it was the best way to give us insight into the jobs themselves without us actually going and shadowing someone physically.

Travel was all paid for for the assessment Centre. For the Academy travel expenses were reimbursed, lunch and dinner (pizza express) were provided on the first day with hotel accommodation and taxi to the hotel provided for us. On the second day we were provided cooked breakfast at the hotel and a hot lunch at the office. There were many other perks including enormous rations of sweets and chocolate and drinks provided at the networking drinks event.

Had a number of partners and senior employees come in and speak to us directly, also offering us the chance to ask any questions we had. At the networking drinks we met mostly recent grads or apprentices (although one girl did mention that they were just people that they could find as few were in the office that day). The partners dinner was the best opportunity to network as they sat and ate amongst us and were happy To have lengthy conversations about anything we were curious on.

Networking amongst ourselves seemed to be pretty natural as almost all of us had a familiar face (mostly from assessment centres). With employees the networking drinks had a tendency To be slightly awkward at times when you wanted to start talking to a different employee but needed to identify a polite place to end your current interaction, but these things do tend to be of that nature. Partners dinner was fun and valuable but at this point we were all quite tired so maybe weren't as talkative as we had been earlier in the day.

There was brief mentioning of community work that is done by employees. Karen Finlayson (a partner) touched on this subject the most and told us about a day where the entire Uk operations give up a day to give back to the community. Apart from this not many other people discussed anything they could do outside of work, no mention of work sport teams which I thought would be something quite popular.

Although this was my first university level insight experience it was so much more than I could have expected. The atmosphere was designed to put You at ease so your natural personality you could shine through making it easier to network. Despite all the fun, I did find this also very informative but what stood out the most for me was how invested in PwC made me feel, even as a first year who has never done anything previous with the firm. I would 100% recommend this to a friend