Love to Train

“Jobs with real prospects that enable people to gain the essential skills they need for their career,” was how Anne Milton MP described apprenticeships in March 2018.

With large companies like IBM and PwC flocking to the cause, Techbuyer is in good company actively seeking more candidates. But what are the benefits for each side? We talked to our own star, Tom Idle, IT Support Technician, and his supervisors Rich Kenny and James Lord (IT Security Manager and IT Infrastructure Manager), who started out as apprentices themselves.

TB: Apprenticeships are quite specialised from an early stage compared with BTECs and A-Levels. How did you know IT Support was something you wanted to get into?

Tom: “I’ve always been into computers through video games. No one sold gaming PCs when I was younger, so you would have to build your own. I found I really enjoyed that.”

James: “Similar to Tom, I’d always wanted to work in IT and got my chance through the council schools department many moons ago. I think the scheme has come a long way since then, when we basically learned by shadowing experienced people. Tom has a much better view of what is out in the sector and what’s coming. It’s much more focused and much more structured.”

Rich: “It’s also surprisingly broad given the background of a lot of people in IT. A lot of people who come through our doors will have certain specialisms they have spent a lot of years in. What this scheme does is give us the chance to have someone with a really broad base and then train them up in different things as and when we require them.”

TB: Tom, you are just coming to the end of Level 3, which is A Level standard. What made you want to go to the next stage at this company rather than move, or go to university to do a foundation degree? 

Tom: “I like my team, they’re funny! Plus, I like being in an office environment because you rarely do the same thing twice. It’s a lot more applicable to business… plus, you get paid rather than ending up with a load of debt…”

Rich: “I think the quality of training is really impressive too. With certification from Microsoft and BCS (British Computing Society, the chartered institute for computer professionals), CompTIA Network+ and Security+, it’s a foundation many IT professionals don’t get the chance to build. These are well recognised qualifications that cover a lot of ground, which means the apprentice is in a great position if they want to retrain in a different specialism as the sector changes. It’s really useful in our line of work.”

TB: What are the next steps?

Tom: I’ll start Level 4 in Autumn and then move on to Level 5 around 18 months after. I was already working here when I was offered the apprenticeship so I want to see it through here.

TB: And are you on the lookout for more apprentices Rich?

Rich: “Tom has formed our opinion on apprenticeships and given us confidence in doing more of them, especially on the technical side. We’re interested in people, and value attitude over paper qualifications, but this is a great scheme for training a people in the precise skill sets the company needs.”