Apprentice to Professional

Annabel Tuohy - Service Desk Analyst

After leaving school, I went to sixth form with the idea of going to university. Halfway through my time at sixth form I realised I didn't know what I wanted to do for a living and began to think that going to university would be pointless and would leave me in a lot of debt with still no idea.

I spoke to a friend who was doing an apprenticeship and decided to have a look around at what was on offer. I found the Devon County Council apprenticeship scheme and was really interested in the variety and found that the pay was much more than an average apprenticeship. I applied and was offered to attend the assessment centre. This day was for you to meet all the managers to see which placement would be best for you. I choose Scomis - Education who provide IT support for hundreds of schools across several local authorities as my placement option. 

I was called back for an interview and secured the apprenticeship that I wanted. I didn't really know what this would entail at the time but was happy that it was in IT and would mean I had 2 qualifications for Level 2 and 3 in Business and Administration by the end of my two years. I didn't plan on staying longer, I was happy to leave after getting my qualification if I wasn't offered a job. 

After my first few weeks, I realised I had found my ideal job. I felt like part of the team instantly, I was learning so many new things and really loved every aspect of the job. I really didn't want to leave and was so glad that I had become an apprentice.

I had a mentor who helped and guided me through each call until I was ready to answer the phones on my own. Once a month, we had the apprenticeship sessions at County Hall where we covered all aspects of the Business and Administration qualification but also had skills sessions such as interview skills which would help us with interviews for permanent positions. All of us apprentices planned a volunteering day in which we helped do up a school’s playground. This day was fun and all the apprentices worked together well as a team to help the school and the end result was really satisfying.

After completing my apprenticeship, a year ago, a job became available on the Service Desk and I applied and thankfully was successful and now am a permanent member of the team. I am so grateful for this opportunity and I'm so pleased that I chose to pursue an apprenticeship rather than going down an alternative educational route. I high recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who is unsure what they would like to do in the future, worst comes to worst, you are being paid to learn.

Annabel Tuohy

Service Desk Analyst

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