Apprentice to Professional
Rob Norton - Service Desk Analyst
I am currently a full time Service Desk Analyst for Scomis
after successfully enrolling and completing the Devon County Council
apprenticeship programme.
After leaving college in June 2015, I did not have any idea
what I wanted to do for full time work or further education. University did not
appeal to me and I did not want to be stuck in my part time job for much
longer. After looking at different careers online and doing work experience at
an IT related company, I enjoyed it and decided I wanted to do an office based
job, preferably in business or IT.
After seeing the DCC apprenticeship program advertised for a
competitive salary, a Level 3 qualification and including my preferences of
business, IT and customer service, I decided to apply for the job. After my
application was accepted, I attended the 2nd stage of the process,
which is where I could pick which role I wanted to apply for. There were many
different roles in different departments of DCC that I could choose from
however, I decided at this point that I wanted to focus on IT. I got an
interview and after attending I was offered a role as a Service Desk analyst on
the education side, which involves being the first line of support for schools
with any IT related issues.
After arriving on my first day, I was immediately made to
feel a part of the team and was assigned a mentor that would help to guide me
through everything and if I had any problems I could go to them in the first
instance. I was given the opportunity to attend different training courses to
improve my knowledge including online learning and videos. Everyone was helpful
and welcoming so I was never afraid to ask for help.
I completed the Level 2 Business & Admin qualification
in the first year of my apprenticeship and then the Level 3 in the second year.
I was given additional time to complete my apprenticeship work from my manager
during the work day so that I could keep on top of everything. On top of this,
I had a training day 1 day per month that included a lesson and time to work on
my portfolio.
As a permanent member of the team, I now can progress to a
level 2 analyst and I am now assisting in mentoring new starters in the team.
At first, it all seemed like a lot to learn and it felt as if I would never get
to grips with it, however now I am a fully competent member of the team and
feel valued from both customers and colleagues with nice feedback that I
receive as I am even helping senior analysts that have been here before I was
even born!
I would recommend doing an apprenticeship to anyone who
doesn’t want to go to university or doesn’t know what to do as it is a great
opportunity to get proper ‘on the job’ experience whilst also earning a good
salary and gaining extra qualifications.
Rob Norton
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