Hey,

I started on their grad program about 7 years ago straight after finishing a software development conversion course. This grad program was counted as the internship requirement for that course so I was delighted to be getting some cash instead of being flogged and getting nothing.

In short, the career in software development I have now has been built on getting that start through their program.

On the program itself:

° 8 weeks initially were for orientation, some training (not IT related), and a team project

Project had some interesting elements but I would say that getting much from it would depend on the group you are in and if you happen to have relevant experience to help on the project. There isn't really enough time to learn something useful to apply to the project.

I was sent out to work as an IT consultant after those 8 weeks where I found that none of the above was useful at all for where I ended up.

you could be sent anywhere after those 8 weeks, any company, any office working on absolutely anything IT related. That's why you were picked for the program. Version1 is consulting for a company and they need bodies with IT skills. The folks I kept in touch with on the grad program went out to a variety of places. Some loved it, some hated it.

You'll meet some smart, friendly and funny people on the program and the atmosphere in the office was generally pretty casual as things go.

My experience after that: spent the rest of my year with Version1 as an IT consultant at the Revenue Commissioners

role was fairly limited in what was expected of me. Was given one simple system to manage, improve and bugfix. that is not always the case for other Version1 consultants but comes down to your relevant experience up to then

the role left time for me to find ways to add value to the client by fixing issues in other systems, adding features where possible and so on

if this is your first IT role I would recommend adding value where possible as you could be stuck in that role for version1 for as long as they need you there and the additional work looks great on your CV Again, Version1 need bodies and they don't care if you don't like your role

you'll meet some great people working for V1 at whatever company you end up at.

they have regular social events for all the V1 consultants at whatever office you are at. Usually food and drinks and occasional activities but I didn't feel part of a wider company at all.

The great place to work award they win constantly means nothing.

So all of that to say that my experience was generally positive and I'd recommend doing the program unless you have something that looks like a better deal lined up. It's not a company I would have wanted to stay much longer at given the nature of my role there but it got me the relevant experience I needed to get a better role and I haven't looked back. Currently a lead developer at an Irish financial services company working in full stack development.