Rating

6.7/10
  • 1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
  • IT Infrastructure Specialist 24x7 Support RSA Personal Lines/ Imprivata OneSign admin/Comms Sector Analyst High pressure team with constant customer focus. many interactions daily with management I work with servers daily as an administrator. R

    8/10

  • 2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
  • 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

    7/10

  • 3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
  • 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.

    7/10

  • 4. How valued do you feel by IBM?
  • I was only valued after about four months. Once I was and got into better roles, recognition and involvement in better tasks increased dramatically

    6/10

  • 5. How well organised/structured is your programme?
  • Training is the area that needs the most work. Students need to be advised on what training is of good quality such as industry

    8/10

  • 6a. How much support do you receive from your training provider?
  • This varys depending on the course and isn't a valid question. If the question is regarding the providor 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.

    5/10

  • 6b. How much support do you receive from your employer?
  • 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.

    7/10

  • 7. How well does your salary/package meet your costs?
  • 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 .

    5/10

  • 8. Are there many opportunities outside of work?
  • 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.

    7/10

  • 9. Would you recommend IBM to a friend?
  • Yes


  • 9b. Why?
  • 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.


  • 10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to IBM?
  • Enthusiasim and knowledge of the organisation helped me massively on interview/assessment day. This, some charisma, displays of aptitude, knowledge of the industry as a whole. P Previous work experience regardless of where or what is in many ways, vital.


Details

Level 3 Apprenticeship

Information Technology

Scotland

September 2013


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