Training and development

Empowering our people to be the best they can be

At PwC, it starts with you

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When you join, we’ll expect you to take personal responsibility for managing your career. Think of it as a deal.

Your part of the deal needs you to be flexible and work hard, often to tight deadlines and at times with long hours. If you join a part of our business that requires the successful completion of a professional qualification, we expect you to commit the significant time and effort required to pass these demanding exams. Whichever team you join, you’ll need to be proactive in building your networks and relationships, often leading to interesting work and projects.

Four people round a table

Our side of the deal provides you with the expertise, tools and teams who’ll support and encourage you. We’re a training firm. Not only will you benefit from a peer group as you begin your training journey, but you’ll also benefit from those who came before you. Many of our seniors, managers and leadership teams joined as students themselves. This means you can trust that we really can put ourselves in each other's shoes. A lot of the people you’re working with will understand first hand what it takes to complete your professional qualification and training programme. They’ll share their insight and experience to help you, whether that be formally as a career coach, or informally as a buddy or colleague.

We believe in doing the right thing for our people and we want you to be empowered to be the best you can be. Depending on business area, not all of our roles include study towards a professional qualification, but all will involve learning on-the-job. You’ll have access to a range of training resources and a development pathway tailored to your business area, providing a blended mix of PwC led learning and your own inquisitive mind. We nurture an open culture where there’s no such thing as the wrong question. The breadth of our business is reflected in the breadth of our clients, meaning you’ll be building skills through a variety of work from day one.

Professional Qualifications

Remember, a professional qualification opens up a world of possibilities. It requires lots of hard work and dedication on your part. The qualification you’ll complete is prestigious and the exams are demanding. You’ll need to invest time in the evenings and weekends to supplement the tuition you’ll receive with our chosen training provider. But invest the time and effort now, and the extra knowledge, self-confidence and personal credibility you’ll gain once you’ve completed your training will pay huge long-term dividends. We’ll financially support you through your exams and help you prepare fully with study and exam leave.

Plus you’ll enjoy widespread support along the way – from expert tutors and a dedicated Early Careers Team, as well as your career coach and peers. Longer term, you may have the opportunity to try new things too. You might work in different teams and offices; sample different clients and projects; try out new roles and even other business areas. It will all help you progress in line with your personal goals as well as our ever-changing business needs.

Training you'll receive

In your first two to three years of joining PwC you’ll focus on getting a good balance of business, personal and technical skills.The majority of our Graduate and School Leaver joiners will also undertake study for a professional qualification, and in many cases this means you’ll be joining either our Level 7 Apprenticeship Route (Graduate) or Level 4 Apprenticeship Route (School Leaver).

For many, working towards a professional qualification will form a significant part of your technical skills training. If you are joining us to complete an Apprenticeship, whether that’s the Graduate or School Leaver route, you’ll formally demonstrate your learning and the skills developed through the required institute’s Apprenticeship Portfolio submission. You’ll be supported throughout to complete this with a dedicated external Talent Coach, along with the support of your PwC Career Coach. 

Throughout your professional qualification journey, you will experience different methods of learning, as we appreciate that people like to learn using different techniques, and benefit from the flexibility this brings. Methods range from classroom courses, live online and remote study supported by online learning tools; all designed to help you build the skills and knowledge you need to pass your exams on your first attempt.

We expect you to take full advantage of the resources available to you, attending all classes and completing all course tests and mocks. It’s worth knowing, we have excellent pass rates, usually well above the Institute pass rates. 

We understand working towards a professional qualification is a significant personal commitment and requires self-discipline and motivation. This is why we make sure you’ll have access to a dedicated Early Careers team, and to a strong support network which will include - external Tutors and Talent Coaches, and your career coach, buddies and peers from PwC. All of them will be familiar with what you’re going through, as they’ve experienced it as well.

If your role doesn’t involve studying towards a professional qualification, you’ll benefit from a high level of investment via your line of service technical training curriculum, regular career coaching and access to our personal development curriculum. As you progress in your career, and depending on your area of expertise, you may also have future opportunities to undertake relevant technical certificates related to your area of work and you’ll continue to develop your skills with our manager and senior manager leadership programmes. Your career coach will help you identify which training programmes suit you at the relevant points in your career, to meet your career aspirations and business needs.

Hear from Kate, Theo and Victoria who share their experiences of their professional qualification pathways.

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Coaching you’ll receive

Everyone is different, and we’ll make sure you have the support, guidance and advice you need. You’ll start having constructive and informative, one-to-one conversations about your development goals early. Your first will be with your career coach during your induction. You’ll also have a buddy to help you settle in during your first few weeks; and a Partner or Director mentor to boost your understanding of PwC, and your longer-term opportunities.

We pride ourselves on making sure our people continuously give and get constructive, focused feedback, and you will too. We’ll encourage you to sum up your performance first, and then get the views of others, which you then evaluate with your career coach, to set goals and objectives. The aim is to help you learn from, and build on, your experiences and the experiences of others. It works both ways too. You’ll regularly be asked to give feedback on the people you work with as part of their performance appraisal.

Humaid

Hear from Humaid on the first four years of his career journey at PwC. Humaid started as a Consulting Higher Apprentice in 2016.

Finished school after completing my A-levels.
I joined on a Consulting Higher Apprenticeship in 2016.
Year 1 I worked on my first client project and sat two exams towards my certificate in Management Consulting, passing both.
Year 2 I passed the remaining three exams for my certificate in management consulting and delivered a presentation to the UK government cabinet office alongside Kevin Ellis, Senior Partner at PwC UK.
Year 3 I won the RateMyApprenticeship award for 'Outstanding Higher Apprentice' and secured a promotion on the early promotion scheme to Senior Associate in 'Government & Health Industry Operations'.
Year 4 I increased my responsibility, leading elements of client projects including a COVID related engagement.

Ruby

Hear from Ruby on the first five years of her career journey at PwC. Ruby joined our Actuarial Pensions team in 2015 and began studying her Actuarial exams through the IFoA.

Graduated from the University of Cambridge.
I joined on the Actuarial Pensions Graduate programme in 2015.
Year 1 Within 3 months I created a complex model for a major piece of technical actuarial analysis.
Year 2 I became the local subject matter expert on a new technology for valuations of defined benefit pension schemes. It was the first time I felt my role was ‘important’ as I could solve problems others couldn’t.
Year 3 I presented my own actuarial analysis in front of clients and answered their questions on my own. I felt empowered, trusted and respected by my peers and clients.
Year 4 I had my first opportunity to own and lead on a multi-workstream, high profile project.
I also qualified as an Actuary with a 100% pass rate!
Year 5 I began to own external stakeholder relationships and lead client projects.
Promotion to Manager.

New world, new skills

It's more important than ever to feel connected and stay informed. In these challenging times, we're relying on technology more than ever. 

While skills requirements will always be changing, at PwC we’ve made a huge commitment to upskilling, investing in training our people, and in the technologies we use for supporting our clients and communities.