IT Apprentice Employer

Name: Andy May

Job Title: ICT Co-ordinator

Company: Southampton City College

Number of Apprentices: 1

Occupational Area: IT

How did you hear about the Apprenticeship scheme?

We became aware of IT Apprenticeships when the College merged with City Training in November 2006.

Why did you decide to take on an Apprentice?

At the time of the merger, the IT department within the College was quite short staffed, so recruiting an Apprentice was a really good idea. We also needed someone who would predominantly be involved in looking after the two City Training sites.

How did you find releasing the Apprentice for day-release training?

It can sometimes be difficult, as you effectively lose a pair of hands. However, we are very supportive of the studying aspect, as we recognise the importance of learning and studying to compliment the work side. Toby (our Apprentice) has in-depth knowledge of City Training and its IT set-up and we really miss him when he is on his day-release. This just shows how valuable an Apprentice he is to our organisation!

Would you take on another Apprentice in the future?

Yes we would definitely take on another Apprentice, in fact we are considering recruiting another one soon! Toby has now progressed onto the Advanced Apprenticeship (NVQ Level 3)

Would you recommend other organisations recruit an Apprentice?

Absoloutely, especially in IT. The most effective way of learning about IT is to get experience and work within an IT environment, you can’t just learn it in a classroom. Website and Programming aspects of IT are great to learn in a classroom environment, but if you want to work on an IT Helpdesk then experience is the best way to go.

What benefits have you gained through having an Apprentice?

At the moment Toby has taken on looking after the IT set up at the two City Training sites. This has taken an enormous amount of pressure off the rest of the IT staff. We have found it interesting to have to go ‘back to basics’ with Toby and it has refreshed our knowledge of how things work.

It is nice to see an Apprentice progress and use their own initiative to deal with problems.

Have you found any difficulties in recruiting an Apprentice?

The time aspect has been a slight problem, especially when we have been short staffed, but this was mainly an issue when Toby first started. However, I don't think that this is an Apprenticeship problem, it is the problem faced by all employers when they have a new member of staff.

Any other comments?

City Training provide support to the Apprentice and Employer and keep us updated on the progress of the learner on the NVQ course. I think the scheme works really well and I feel proud when people speak highly of Toby and the work that he does. It gives great satisfaction that myself and the IT team have contributed to a young person’s success!