DMO Materiel Graduate Scheme - Finance and Accounting
What appealed to me about undertaking the Finance and Accounting Pathway was the amount, and quality, of training provided. This training wasn't just specific courses for Defence. At the end of the Pathway, Defence will support you to gain Certified Practicing Accountant or Chartered Accountant qualifications.
Michael is adamant when he says the best bits of the Pathway were 'definitely the training and making new friends'. He said he got the 'opportunity to ask a lot of questions that you could not ask if you were not doing the Pathway', and got to work on 'projects with cutting edge technology and budgets that are much larger than the examples shown in textbooks'.
He said the Finance and Accounting Pathway had provided a good platform for building his career. After trying 'a little bit of everything' during rotations, he said, I learned a lot and found a career path that I am drawn to. I have found mentors and supervisors that go out of their way to help me do my job.
Michael is now working in a position where he prepares project budgets, which he says 'is more exciting and stimulating than it sounds'. He said he hopes to be doing the same thing in two years time, 'but with more qualifications'.
He suggested potential graduates wanting to apply to this Pathway should 'read the newspaper articles relevant to Defence work'. He also said, Public sector job applications are very different to industry job applications. Spend a lot of time addressing the selection criteria.
Michael completed this Development Pathway in January 2012.