KPMG apprenticeship Bristol

[lovelthesun247]

I have posted this elsewhere, but someone suggested I post on this board so have reposted here.

I am asking for advice and opinions about two things here please.

My son has been offered a KPMG consultancy apprenticeship and has been given two weeks to decide if he wants to accept or decline it.

Has anyone you know done an apprenticeship at this company? I know they have a good reputation, but I would like to hear about personal experiences if possible. What are the working conditions for people taking part in the scheme? I assume it’s hard work, but was it rewarding?

Secondly, we are based in London and the apprenticeship is in Bristol. We have never been to Bristol and would appreciate some feedback on what Bristol is like please. He would have to move to Bristol. If he was moving there for university he would be part of a community of students in the same position as him, but he’s nervous about moving there to work as feels he will feel isolated.

He wants to make a decision by tomorrow so he can go back to them, so I would appreciate your thoughts on this, so I can give him different views to help him make a decision.

Hey does your son have any tips on how he got the apprenticeship? My DC has her launchpad event coming up for the consulting apprenticeship and she is nervous. Any advice would be useful on how he did the assessments and how he managed his nerves.

Take the position, visit Bristol with him for a couple of days so he can get a feel for the place and if he absolutely hates it he can always change his mind, but it's a lively city with loads going on and very liveable in terms of size. Check out Gumtree to see how much rooms in shared houses are going for, accommodation is expensive and competition can be steep, but if you're used to London rental prices then shouldn't be too much of a shock.

I'm not sure about apprenticeships at KPMG although I have a friend who works for them in Bristol and she has been with them for years and loves it. Bristol is a nice city and the people are so friendly. It's easy to make friends, but he'll find the friendliness odd for a while as it's only when you move away from London, that you realise how reserved London makes you. Bristol is quite a young city as they have 2 universities and a decent amount of nightlife. My advice would be to go to Bristol quickly to look around - go and look at the KPMG building which is in Queen Square and then go and have a spot of lunch on the harbour side.

What did he decide op?

Sorry I didn't check for more replies and didn't see this until this morning.

Congratulations to your DC for getting to the launchpad stage.

He did loads of research on the company. I did some mock interviews with him before the day and asked him why he chose the company, why he applied for the apprenticeship. His strengths/weaknesses.

He was surprisingly organised for the day so he wasn't rushing around in the morning. The dress code was smart casual, so he was smart, but didn't wear a full suit. He took a calculator, pen and notepad with him for the group task.

For the interview he said it was fairly relaxed and felt more like a conversation, but he said he wasn't relaxed as didn't want to come across as unprofessional.

It was a long day and he was tired as it was a long distance away from where we live, but he enjoyed the experience. I reminded him to take deep breaths, but he said doing the research and the mock interviews before the day helped him as he felt more prepared.

He was contacted two days later with the offer.

Good luck to your DC!

He accepted it. He has signed the contract and starts September or early October.

Thank you to everyone for your advice. It was very helpful

Many congratulations to him! I did 10 years with KPMG - am meeting later this month good friends that I met on our 1st week in 1986!! Tough times bond you!!

I would agree with these points. KPMG is really keen to encourage new talent through different routes than the standard graduate and apprentices have access to great opportunities. A colleague of mine went through one and apparently perm staff members have loads of opportunities to move sideways as well as up, so can experience different areas of the business.

Sounds like an amazing opportunity for him. Well done!