Digital & Technology Solutions Degree Apprentice Review

I am in IBM Consulting division in a Maintenance team of a national Mobile App. I work with data, presenting my operational reporting to clients. I also have driven changes in how we handle and triage bugs; unlocked cost savings in their cloud usage; and learnt deeply about the technical architecture.

In 1 year, I have learnt PM tools such as Jira, Confluence, ServiceNow; used some Azure DevOps for Release Management; Azure Portal for cloud; and more. There are an unlimited amount of areas to get involved with if you are keen, so there are plenty of doors to learn new programming languages or develop new skills. I also built soft skills in Delivery & Release Management, SCRUM Master, stakeholder management and confidence when running meetings.

I have met some fantastic people and every is nice and happy to help. Degree Apprenticeships are so cool as you can get a degree while making a real imapct!

The IBM scheme is brilliant. There is a whole setup for Apprentices within 'IBM Foundation' where you are supported through your journey with a Foundation Manager and peers who joined alongside you. There are plenty of events and strong Early Professional communities.

Loads. Our Foundation Managers have our back with getting onto new projects and developing our skills. They sit outside of the org structure so are there to support. Also, the education provider, Northeastern University, has a whole community in IBM led by a Foundation Manager where we are supported through our degree apprentice journey. The community supports us e.g. with meeting our KSBs required for apprenticeship.

A decent amount. What I love about the training provider (for me, Northeastern Uni but may be different) is that it is completely virtual. You work through course material at your pace and have 2 live seminars per course. It can be hard to juggle work + studying, as the 6 week uni modules overlap by 2 weeks. We have a 'Success Manager' at the uni to support and the uni takes on board feedback. We mostly crack on ourselves though. :)

I am only 6 months into the university aspect of my course. So far, it has not aligned too much but I have some modules coming up that will help a lot. My Python programming course was good, and I am much more inclined to continue learning building on this now, and apply to my projects.

Loads of communities which you can join. Absolutely loads of events (social, networking and educational events). We do 'Hackathons' with lots of big companies too. Also, volunteering opportunities and 'Giveback'.

Yes

IBM is brilliantly set up for Apprentices. IBM is vibrants with Early Professionals, and learning from the experienced people around you in your project teams. The Apprenticeship schemes have so many benefits and you can really make an impact. I personally love working in a Consultancy business, as you can work on so many exciting, cutting-edge projects and clients. It is very varied and you can learn a lot of valuable skills.

Use the STAR Method in Interviews (this is pretty standard for all companies). Be enthusiastic and hungry to learn! Present your experiences in a positive way - they appreciate we will not have many straight out of school. Be creative with this. Tell us why you and why IBM! Do some research into the company and impact.