This week we are celebrating National Apprenticeship Week 2021 – Build the Future, running from the 8th – 14th February 2021
The 2021 National Apprenticeship Week’s theme is “Build the Future” – a theme that is very much aligned to our own apprentice program. At Smart IT, we strongly believe that investing in young talent and moulding those individuals into first class engineers, with all the knowledge and experience necessary to do one of the most challenging support roles in the North East, helps build a future work force that is loyal, knowledgeable, and customer focused.
Like most apprenticeship schemes, all apprentices earn a range of qualifications and experience that will kick start their career in IT and Telecoms. However, the Smart IT Advanced Apprenticeship scheme is one of the very few that will certify engineers to be Microsoft Certified IT Professionals or MCITP for short.
We currently have a total of eight apprentices working at Smart IT, we caught up with Thomas, James and Liam, to find out more on their apprenticeship journey:
What sort of things have you learnt since joining Smart IT?
“My technical and theoretical skills have had a massive jump since joining, I’ve learnt so much even in a fairly short time and have gained a good understanding of working within an environment which I haven’t experienced before. It has given me a massive boost to my confidence and improved socials skills.” Thomas
“I’ve learned what it means to be part of a team, constantly working with people on the helpdesk has helped me develop my skills in the IT industry.” James
“My customer service skills are the main thing I have developed; how to talk to customers on the phone and as well as over email.” Liam
What made you choose Smart IT?
“The reason that I chose smart IT was because I have always had a strong interest in IT, and I plan to follow this as my chosen career path. My goal is to follow my brother’s footsteps and achieve the level of success he has, in the advancing world of IT. Smart IT allows me to learn new skills and information do be used within the real world” Thomas
“I started doing work experience with Smart IT once a fortnight and then got offered an apprenticeship and I think this was based on my positive attitude towards the work and my commitment tasks I was given.
After taking some time to think about the offer and speaking to my sixth form teachers I decided to accept the offer and started the next week” James
“I applied for a few apprenticeships including Smart IT. I chose Smart IT because they are local to where I live but also because there is a lot of chance for progression” Liam
Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about doing an apprenticeship?
“I believe that an apprenticeship is 100% the way forward for a student’s education, as it allows for both hands-on experience of the working world and the opportunity to learn when working. In my opinion, it’s the best way of learning rather than full time education like sixth form. An apprenticeship allows you to demonstrate your learning, then at the end of the program, you have already proven your skills to other work colleagues helping you progress higher up in the world of work.” Thomas
“Put yourself out there and apply yourself – you won’t get an apprenticeship if you don’t give people a reason to take you on. If you have talents in certain aspects that you think could give you an advantage over someone else, make sure you show them. Give an employer every reason to choose you, and no reason to turn you away.
At the end of the day, it’s a learning environment so take as much as you can out of it – It’s amazing how much you can learn when actually doing the work!” James
“As long as you work hard and try your best you will do well” Liam
To create first class engineers, Smart IT have teamed up with technology training provider QA to build a unique apprenticeship scheme that provides all the necessary knowledge and experience required to mould a first class engineer. Ofsted rated QA Apprenticeship schemes ‘Outstanding’ in all areas.
“We are exceptionally proud of our Advanced Apprentice Program, we are committed to attracting, developing, and retaining our apprentices. Over the years, many of our most successful engineers have come from the apprentice program, most recently we promoted William Gallon to Telecoms Provisioning Engineer after successfully completing his apprenticeship.
Despite the challenging times, we are clear that increasing apprenticeship opportunities is part of our ongoing strategy and we recognise the benefits it brings for both the employees and Smart IT.”
Jon Proud, Smart IT Operations Director
Anyone interested in enrolling on Smart IT’s Apprenticeship scheme should register their interest using our Job Alerts feature on our website to be notified as soon as a vacancy arises.
