ICT Specialist Review

I am currently an IT Infrastructure Specialist helping with 24x7 Support; RSA Personal Lines; Imprivata OneSign admin and Comms Sector Analytics. I am in a high-pressure team with constant customer focus. many interactions daily with the management team. I also work with servers on a daily basis as an administrator and IT technician too.

Windows Server/AIX/Linux administrative abilities and knowledge has increased over time. Communication skills (which I'm still keen to develop) further Learning at speed + time management better understanding of code which will only increase as i move forward through my apprenticeship. Some databases specific to IBM have also been introduced to me and i have learnt my way around a few of these too.

Team is great in my location however not many care for business dress. I dislike the company culture with regards to having changes and suggestions implemented. IBM Foundation does well to grasp this with a competition to have your ideas progressed and given substantial funding - however even on a project by project basis it can be very hard to make something you see as a brilliant idea a reality - even when backed by others on the same project/account. I do like that in a year I've had stimulating coversations and emails with Vice Presidents, Partners and General Managers alike - and it's great that the top tier in the company heirarchy take the time to talk to low-tier employees like myself and my collegues. I enjoyed the program overall because I feel several of the beneifts are hard earned. I chose the apprenticeship over university and I'll be sticking with it until I re-assess my needs in two years time.

I was only valued after about four months. Once I was in better roles and got into the work, the recognition and involvement in tasks increased dramatically and I felt like part of the team a bit more. My responsibility also increased so i was finally doing worthwhile work and jobs which the company needed completing rather than mundane example work. I suppose it's difficult to complete jobs the company depend upon getting complete when you first start though.

Training is the area that needs the most work. Students need to be advised on what training is of good quality such as industry, engineering, technology and business too. The general plan for students is pretty good however we are not given much advice and help freely, we always have to ask for this and sometimes this can be difficult to get as well.

This varys weekly depending on the course and isn't a valid question. If the question is regarding the provider for the apprenticeship qualification overall, they've been good so far however I think current OCR mapping could be a far more streamlined process for all parties involved. The general organisation of the course is pretty good but it's difficult to examine the response of the supervisors if a problem occurs in the course.

Support is mostly financial in terms of education, with mentors or other apprentices providing most advice on education. We are given a document with 'reccomended courses' but frankly this needs a total overhaul - I've found very few courses to be of use of those reccomended in the entire document in terms of daily jobs and the sectors of work i am currently in.

My salary meets my costs and leaves me enough money to save some each month - however this is only due to the fact that I now work a tremendous amount of hours per week. If it weren't for this, I'd be breaking even or making a slight loss per month. The general salary for an apprentice is pretty good however i think anyone who's thinking of moving out or buying a car would struggle.

When I'm not working I enjoy a good social life in Glasgow/Ayr. Work events are good for IBM Foundation as a whole but for my local area they are quite poor, perhaps as Scotland/Greenock has a lower population vs England for workforce, and this is the standard I'm comparing to. Theres not many organised work events just some employees occasionally asking for a few drinks after work sometimes, although this is nice i'ts a social event organised by a staff member and not IBM.

Yes

I see a good future here and would reccomend it to anyone that isn't put off by hard effort and, in my opinion, a more intriguing, self-motivated way of learning. The salary isn't too bad if you live at home but if you have a family to support and bills to pay for it's always going to be difficult starting off on an apprenticeship course.

Enthusiasim and knowledge of the organisation helped me massively during my interview and when i had my assessment day. This, some charisma, displays of aptitude, knowledge of the industry as a whole will go a long way during the process. Previous work experience regardless of where or what is in is always good to talk about. Be confident in yourself, dress smart, act friendly and just be yourself.