Click on the below profiles to find out more about life as a scholar from those who have experienced it first hand.
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Adam Powell I joined Corporate Tax three years ago as part of the scholarship scheme in which post A-level students take a gap year with the firm before beginning university. I've been returning to the Birmingham office during university holidays ever since. My decision to work in Corporate Tax in Birmingham was due to the variety of work and experience available in the department, the people I work with and the city itself. The Birmingham Corporate Tax team has, over the past few years, grown stronger and more diverse, and what with the department doubling in size, the social life just got better!
Working in Birmingham means that you are in the centre of one of the country's biggest most dynamic cities, something that is reflected in our work; the variety of work is never ending, with opportunities to work in office and at clients with a variety of companies across the globe. We work hard and strive to be the top professionally, but there is always room for a relaxing drink (or 3!) after work, especially when we are less than a minute away from Broad Street, Birmingham's highest concentration of bars, clubs and pubs.
Returning to Birmingham from the relatively care-free life of a music student at Leeds University could be considered a bit of a culture shock, but I find the office atmosphere to be the complete opposite of the traditional 'accountant' stereotype. Coming back to the office provides a chance to catch up with developments on a social and business level, as well as finding out what changes Birmingham has undergone; every time I come back it seems that something new has opened or will be opening soon.
Deloitte is one of the fastest growing financial services companies, with the tax practice going from strength to strength and a career with Corporate Tax in Birmingham has enabled me to be a part of all this while gaining valuable insight into business practices. The outstanding support team (both in-department in terms of mentors and performance management, and the centralised HR team) means that any problems are quickly dealt with and that your career can be mapped out taking advantage of your strengths and needs. I would recommend the Birmingham Corporate Tax Group to anybody wanting to work in an exciting, dynamic department that knows how to take advantage of being in England's second city. James Burke When thinking about gap years whilst in the final year of sixth form I decided that I wanted a gap year that gave me the chance to earn, gain invaluable work experience in a business environment and travel the far reaches of the globe for several months – the Deloitte Scholars Scheme stood out as a fantastic opportunity that matched my criteria.
The placement started with an intense few weeks of training with the graduates but this was a period in which the scholars at the London office which I joined became firm friends both in and after class. Right from the outset we were treated like graduates and expected to perform like graduates, which may seem intimidating to applicants, however we all found this level of responsibility rewarding.
This theme continued into the office, where as part of my work in the Telecommunications, Media and Technology department, I played a key role in a range of projects ranging from the audit of a small television manufacturer to being part of an enormous restructuring project of a major telecommunications provider. I enjoyed these tasks in different ways. The small audit meant that my role was extremely important to the success of the team as a whole. The large project allowed me to gain a valuable insight into the workings of a major firm and work as part of a large and successful team. The notion of “work hard, play hard” was very much in evidence here, and the position of the Deloitte office on the Strand near Covent Garden meant for an excellent life outside the office.
Overall, the quality of the training, the range of work and living and working in London made for an amazing gap year, swiftly followed by four months travelling in South East Asia before heading off to university. Now at university I am still involved with the firm doing promotional work and am looking forward to the scholar reunion Christmas party at the National Portrait Gallery in London!
Rachel Pettigrew Life after 'A' levels is fairly daunting for any eighteen year old and the thought of spending seven months of your gap year working in a professional services firm may seem like an impossible task. But if you’re thinking along these lines, you are wrong! I joined Deloitte on the Scholars Scheme in August 2002 and if you’re anything like me and enjoy a challenge, you will benefit from your time at the firm and wonder why every year can’t be a gap year!
The Corporate Tax Department in Birmingham consists of a strong group of very friendly people. The service line itself is very diverse and enables you to take on many different forms of work, from large client-based projects (where you’ll often meet or communicate with the clients themselves) to preparing tax computations with managers in the office. It isn’t only the work though that makes a gap year with Deloitte so enjoyable, it is the office drinks nights, the Christmas parties or simply enjoying the friendships that you are bound to make whilst working within the firm.
For me, another incentive to become a scholar was the travel bursary that you are awarded on completion of your placement. With the money Deloitte gave me, I travelled from Bangkok to Singapore in May this year, and then flew over to Australia. This was an incredible experience, which would not have been so achievable had I not been lucky enough to gain a place on the scholarship scheme.
I am now reading Management Studies at Nottingham University but am already planning my return to the civilisation of the office in December! I keep in touch with many of the staff and scholars of Deloitte, meeting up for drinks or staff netball matches, and these get-togethers always remind me why I am so glad I spent my gap year with Deloitte! Chris Hall I joined the Audit team 3 years ago at the Cambridge office. From day one I began to have fun; I recall free introductory lunch at Brown’s (very posh Parisian restaurant), which was a great laugh. I then moved along with all the graduates (eek!) to start the training programme which would equip us all with the key analytical skills that we would need. The training, in my opinion, was and is one of the Firm’s key strengths. This is in two ways: One, the preparatory training gave me a clear understanding for what the role was that I would fit into. Hence, I didn’t feel totally lost on my first client! Secondly, the people that I worked with were all very friendly and always willing to take time out to tell me what needed to be done. Thus it wasn’t long before I was racing ahead with my practical skills whilst all the graduates were still in accountancy school!
I would recommend Audit to anyone who has an interest in seeing a large variety of clients and their respective businesses. Audit involves travelling out to clients on a regular basis, which I found really interesting. It certainly suited my personality because I liked to meet new people and I was fascinated seeing how all the different businesses perceived themselves in the markets that they were in.
After I finished my placement with the firm I went travelling! Believe me £1,500 will go a LONG way for your travelling aspirations. I had possibly one of the best summers of my life after my time with the firm. To start off with I went to Russia, where I stayed in Moscow and St. Petersburg. I saw Lenin’s tomb and Red Square and so many other amazing things! After that, I decided to go touring around Wales on a mountaineering bout with my climbing friend. Come mid august, Prague sounded attractive, so I thought “why not, I can afford it!”. And finally, I went to Switzerland for two weeks to do more, you guessed it, mountaineering! What more could I have hoped for? And as came the end of that, I only had a wicked time at university to look forward to.
Without a doubt, taking a gap year and joining the Scholarship Programme was the best choice I ever made.
Sapna Dutta As a sixth form student, my potential career aspirations were mixed; I was working part time as a BBC radio presenter and had a place at the LSE to study Law. Despite these somewhat unrelated experiences I was given the opportunity to spend a year, before beginning university, in the Firm’s Corporate Tax Department in Manchester. As you can imagine, given my varied background and GCSE Level Maths, my knowledge of Corporate Taxation was limited, to say the least! However, within the first month I was completing full computations of our clients’ annual Tax Liabilities. I had been trained in exactly the same way as had our new graduate recruits, and, by the culmination of my gap year placement, I had a substantial knowledge of both how my department works, and the specific subject matter within which our business runs.
The Scholar placement provides an ongoing learning opportunity at a crucial time in your life; as a school-leaver and university student, I was eager to try my hand at as many different careers as possible in the hope that one would inspire me in a certain direction! Besides gaining a huge advantage academically (my Tax Law seminars are much easier now!), I grew socially and developed into an individual that I could never even have aspired to be had I gone straight into university from school. Every one of my colleagues within the Firm was invaluable in aiding my understanding of my work, and in making me feel comfortable, whether I was working right next to them in the office, or meeting with the Director of one of our client companies. TOP Nicola Kirkpatrick I spent my gap year working in the Audit Department in the Glasgow office. I am from Belfast and decided to go to Glasgow because I wanted to work somewhere that would be new and exciting, in the heart of a big city but that was also close enough for a short flight home! I wasn't wrong, the experience was brilliant both in and outside the office, and I have made lifelong friends!
I worked in the audit department, which meant I spent a great deal of my time outside the office, working at a client's premises. It also involved a lot of travelling. I not only got to work on the audit teams of some of the country's biggest firms but I experienced commuting to Edinburgh for work, as well as being assigned jobs in Inverness and even Northampton! The work was varied from week to week and the experience I gained was invaluable. An audit team is normally comprised of a manager; a number of assistant managers, senior associates and associates, as well as more senior members like a partner. As part of a team, everyone helped to make each job a success and have some fun as well as work!
Certainly, the social aspect of work is important ("work hard, play hard"!) and Deloitte always had nights out organised. From incredible formal dinners, to pub quizzes or just a "Beer Bash" in the local pub, everyone had great fun!
I have just started my university life, studying Law and Accounting at Queens University Belfast. My experience is making the accounting side of my degree much more relevant and I have had a really beneficial year out before beginning my degree. I was given appraisals at the same level as the graduates, with relevant feedback on areas to improve as well as praise for work well done. This is a great way to spend your gap year and the continued involvement with the firm is extremely profitable.
Deloitte is an excellent place to work. They give the scholars the same treatment as graduates, with exceptional training but they expect you to give the same back to the firm, encouraging you to work to the best of your ability. I am really looking forward to spending some of my holidays each year working, as I will be able to keep my business knowledge and contact with the firm right up-to-date. I would recommend the scheme to anyone who is a hard worker, interested in a first class gap year work placement and a great time in the process. |