Pros
- Require no previous IT expereince and so is a way into the field if you are STEM - 5/6 months paid training is good. - Good community in training with like minded people of a similar age - Friday pub trips - Range of clubs (albeit some don’t cater for many people) - Well stocked biscuit drawer. There’s fruit too. - Reasonable pay after 2 years - There is no pressure to do overtime.
Cons
- The morale is very low amongst the people working on a client. Although training has a good supportive culture, as soon as you start client work the community feel disappears. - Experience depends heavily on the client you get and the clients are, with a few exceptions, low to no code projects. A lot of projects have little opportunity to use the skills developed in training. - You have no say in which client you get and no steer on your own career progrssion. - New starters are required to enrol onto an Apprenticeship and have to work longer hours than other colleagues to do the coursework. The apprenticeship is very unpopular amongst the new starters and some people have left the company as a result. - Not able to work from home until after serving 18 months at the company and then only if you meet quite a strict criteria about you home that many employess do not meet. - High turnover staff turnover