BrightStart Apprenticeship
Deloitte
During A-levels, I was constantly unsure of the route that I wanted to take in my career and had originally applied for engineering at University. A close friend already worked in consulting (I did not even know what this was at the time) and she explained what her apprenticeship consisted of, which drew my interest straight away… and this is where it all began!
As part of my apprenticeship, I am entitled to take 20% off-the-job to focus on my university degree: Business Management through The Open University. Usually, I take this on Mondays and resume with client work from Tuesdays to Fridays. Since the pandemic I have been working from home, with the aim of returning to the office from time to time, to work with my team. I work closely with a Director and Senior Manager on my project, offering PMO support alongside Testing support.
My tasks range from collating reports and updating metrics to ensuring seamless communication between different sub-teams through the use of meetings and online platforms. Also as part of my client work, I constantly engage with the client to grow and maintain healthy work relationships whilst also learning and acquiring new skills every day. There is a great sense of enjoyment and sense of reward that is derived from working on such amazing projects, especially knowing that we are contributing to society.
As with anything, there may always be challenges presented. Some of the biggest challenges that I have faced were transitioning from the office to working from home, as this took me some time to get used to and also changing projects – this was difficult for me as I did not know what to expect from new projects and new team members, especially when most of us have not met due to COVID restrictions. However, these also transitioned into some of my current strengths, heightening my adaptability and communication skills, and thanks to this I have built relationships overtime and expanded my network incredibly.
It is important to note that client work is not the only form of work within Consulting. Typically, consultants are also involved in personal development work as well as business development work. These give us a chance to support bids and develop our skills.
Consulting is like a breath of fresh air with endless opportunities. You have so much control over the direction of your career and can constantly develop new skills that contribute to your work but also life in general – it’s the best decision that I made!