Brage Stuve

Country of origin: Norway

Placement: Deloitte

I was an Analyst in Deloitte’s Consulting branch, specifically within their Technology area. I completed projects related to financial services clients, ranging broadly from how the clients work as an organisation to modernising and implementing global technology systems.

My daily project work consisted of building content in software packages, meeting with client stakeholders, doing quantitative and qualitative analysis, and a lot more.

My projects were all outside of London, which involved some travelling and hotel life. This meant some early mornings and late nights, but also comfy double beds, nice dinners and cultural experiences.

Few people actually knew that I was an industrial placement (IP) student. The firm did not make much difference between us and graduates. However, we had our little IP working group with the six current IPs and former IPs working full-time in Deloitte on promoting the programme internally (extending the number of IP intake, strengthening our IP brand) and externally (how we recruit, further development of the programme, etc.). My project team did not realise that I was an IP until the end of the project. So it is clear that as an IP, I did fulfilling and essential tasks just like any other graduate.

Deloitte is extremely good with personal and professional development. All Analysts have requirements with courses and exams that we need to complete, ranging from technical skills to soft skills. There is a strong informal and formal feedback culture as well, which I believe is really important in the early stages of my career.

A highlight of my placement was the Analyst Induction Programme. It lasted for six weeks: the first day was at Emirates Stadium, and we then spent four weeks doing courses at a conference centre at Oxford Circus. Another two weeks were spent at an exclusive hotel in the Cotswolds, where we worked in a project team throughout the period. We had many late nights, both work and social (parties, a ball, arcade games evening, black tie dinners, etc.).

I highly recommend anyone interested to do a placement, as the benefits are endless; you gain an insight into what work you want to do, how the company works, how other companies and industries work and change, and I am sure it will improve my academic results in the final year. These are just a few of the benefits – go for it!