The Software Institute Reviews

Where do I even start? First, you are locked in to a contract for 1 year. If you want to break that contract, you have two weeks to decide upon joining, where there is no cost for leaving, but after that, it costs £6000 to leave, to cover "training fees". TSI keep up with you once every two weeks once on placement. And most of the time it's kept that way. For my cohort we were rarely visited in person, so contact was very minimal in all honesty. However, if there's any sort of hiccup while on client... TSI have a tendency to freak out at a moment's notice if there is ANYTHING even slightly concerning communicated back from the client, and this strong reaction usually involves terminating the graduate's contract. I have heard multiple instances of grads being fired for absurd things that are not their fault, for telling their manager that they aren't given enough work, for clients saying that there are no projects for the grads, and TSI are completely unwilling to re-allocate them to a new client. They will take advantage of the probation period to do as they please. Some grads up and move their lives to a new location for work, and will be fired on a dime. No severance package, no notice. The job security is paper thin. Many grads have come close to being fired for similar reasons, and it does not look like this trend will stop. TSI do not look out for their engineers, the graduates they eagerly scout and cold call to recruit. Recently around 15 or so graduates were simply fired on the spot as the client communicated that there were no available projects at that time, and instead of supporting their grads, TSI hung them out to dry. Even some that had finished probation were let go in an instant. Bottom line - TSI will not be on your side. The corporate staff are a joke. As a graduate you will rarely see the London office and the well paid execs that wander around in there. As graduates you will be considered second class to the elite, and under certain circumstances they will handle and present themselves EXTREMELY unprofessionally. They pretend to care about being a "family" and how we are all equal, but it's your typical corporate spiel that they don't really mean. They focus on growth in the wrong way, rather than investing in people they would rather invest in appearances, intent on growing as fast as possible, and in nonsense avenues and ventures that will certainly waste their money and time. You will always see their embarrassing LinkedIn posts that are out of touch and come off unbelievably arrogant. Some members of staff are particularly unpleasant in their own ways, be it talking down to grads, micromanaging areas they are not part of, and embarrassing employees publicly, or sector leads openly discussing their personal intentions within the company. TSI is an enticing opportunity. But it is extremely risky. You are locked into a contract. You are not guaranteed a client. If you are deployed to a client, who after 1 month has no projects for you, you will probably be completely fired from TSI. They wanted to be a better, graduate friendly version of FDM, but the way things are looking, TSI are not better. Potentially worse. The job security is non existent, the pay and holiday time is weak, the support is laughable and the London staff are in their own little world. Spare yourself the mental toll, if they cold call you and ask if you're interested, hang up the phone.

In the end they show little regard for staff wellbeing. You are a number to them, not a person. I came to The Software Institute as one of the top in my class at University, and on day one of the training we were told how we would be nurtured and supported.... 5 Months down the line they lost a contract with one of their clients and they took the decision to make all 15 of us redundant with one weeks notice. If you're a graduate and are approached by TSI please be careful and do your research! The people may be nice but ultimately the commercial model relies of them providing a high number of consultants to an end client and keeping the difference in salary. IF THEY LOOSE A CLIENT CONTRACT, EVEN WHEN IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT, THEY WILL TERMINATE YOUR CONTRACT. ALL 15 PEOPLE FROM MY COHORT WERE TERMINATED. Friendly staff, but a management team who ultimately do not care for their staff if the business faces trouble in any event. There are lots of opportunities out there if you are a graduate so take your time, look at whats out there, and do not let them pressure you into signing a contact - even if they say they need it ASAP.