Award winning careers with degree apprenticeships

Andreya Ezekiel-Meade was recently announced the Software Developer Apprentice of the Year at the BCS IT & Digital Apprenticeship Awards 2024. Andreya spoke to Grant Powell to explain her reason for choosing a degree apprenticeship over other avenues of learning, why her career with KPMG is so rewarding, and how winning the award has opened up new opportunities.

Why did you decide on a career in software development through the degree apprenticeship route?

I always imagined that I might work in a science based career, and chose related A Levels to help me head in that direction. I was also playing semi-professional football for Tottenham women's team alongside my studies. When I picked up quite a significant injury which required surgery, it meant that I wasn't able to complete all of my courses. This forced me to reevaluate my plans, as it was now unlikely that the universities I had been considering would accept me without the required grades for entry.

I considered redoing my A levels and started also looking around for other opportunities, which is when I discovered degree apprenticeships. I’m from quite a low socio-economic background, so the decision to apply for technology and software engineering roles was based mainly on the fact that I knew that they represented future proof and sustainable careers with plenty of scope for progression. I also didn’t want to start accumulating debt in the form of student fees and loans, so being paid to learn, helping me become financially independent and financially stable, was an opportunity too good to pass up.

I was eventually offered an interview with KPMG. I spent that whole summer learning about the company and trying to upskill myself with some key concepts in preparation. The five year long degree apprenticeship at KPMG has been incredible. I’ve learned so much and in fact have just completed it.

What has the whole degree apprenticeship experience with KPMG been like?

Throughout my apprenticeship I have been very fortunate to be able to rotate through many roles relating to the software engineering and software development lifecycle. I've had opportunities to be on a testing team performing manual and automated testing, to work with AWS and to take part in data structuring projects. My main area of focus has been software engineering, working on internal and external products with a range of different technology stacks and frameworks, and all of that really fun stuff. I have also worked in a team focusing on the cloud, purely out of curiosity really. We passed a lot of work their way, so I wanted to find out what happened next from their perspective and to understand more about their world. I'm a very curious person and love to know how everything links up, understanding the responsibilities and how they align in the wider scheme of things. I've just been venturing out trying out different things, and software engineering is definitely my passion, but I also enjoy the project management side and the business analysis side.

In terms of developing wider skills during my apprenticeship, I've also been involved in KPMG’s LGBTQ+ network, sitting on the executive board as intersectionality lead. So, while I've been doing my day job I've also been working on initiatives and schemes with the inclusion team that we've rolled out across the business, whether that’s reverse mentorship or community hubs. I've been wearing those two hats for the past five years. I've enjoyed helping to move things forward and put things in place that will not only make my life in the corporate world better, but will positively benefit other people too.

Can you tell us what led up to winning the BCS apprentice of the year award?

I was very surprised to find out that one of my colleagues had nominated me. She let me read through her nomination, which was scary and a bit embarrassing. It mentioned the two sides of what I do; the software development, technical, business-focused side, as well as the KPMG LGBTQ+ network, and also detailed some of the other work I’m involved with, such as being a mentor for several social mobility charities that help individuals who might be struggling to get into the tech industry, due to factors relating to identity.

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I support them in many ways; it might be helping them to upskill in a coding language such as Python, so that they can use this to leverage it to create solutions, or helping with assessments or interview applications. When I found out I had won the award I couldn’t believe it. And I honestly haven't stopped thinking about it since. It has been such a great experience, and it’s fantastic to receive recognition for my skills and efforts.

Do you think winning the award might lead to new avenues of opportunity?

When I was starting out, I didn’t particularly have any computer science knowledge compared with the rest of my apprenticeship cohort, and sometimes I felt a bit of a disconnect. These were people who had been studying the subject since GCSE level, and it was something that they'd been planning to do for their whole lives. So, I feel like winning this award has given me credibility. I love doing what I’m doing, I've been working really hard, and I have come from a position of knowing absolutely nothing to knowing enough and doing enough to be awarded for my achievements.

I've put the award on my CV, I've put it on my LinkedIn profile, and since doing so I've made a lot of new connections. The award has given me extra validation and helped me grow my network. I also feel much more confident in my work, and in taking other opportunities as they arise. Winning the award confirms for me that entering into this industry and choosing this degree apprenticeship was absolutely the right thing to do. There's no way at all that I will ever regret the path that I'm on. I would certainly encourage others to embark on a degree apprenticeship as a way to kickstart a rewarding career in tech.

You can view BCS’ IT & Digital Apprenticeship Awards 2024 winners and learn more about IT apprenticeships on the BCS website.