IT Service Manager Review

Since starting at IBM, I have been given a role with huge responsbility where I manage multiple client relationships with the IBM account I work on. This involves having monthly calls with the clients to report on the previous months performance, meetings around service risks and issues (both internal and with external clients), calls regarding upcoming releases and their readiness, as well as daily team meetings to discuss the health of all the services which is useful for when I do my 24/7 on-call shifts.

I have completed external courses offered and funded by IBM which have been hosted by QA. These include ITIL4, Agile Course and PRINCE2. I have also attended a Presenting and Influencing Virtually course which was available during lockdown on how to present via video calls. With my degree, I have had to manage time effectively which has improved time management and organisational skills. This is also useful in my day role with deadlines and SLAs that I am required to meet.

My team at work are very supportive of my studies and are more than happy to give me the odd study day if I have an exam coming up. As a couple of them were apprentices themselves, but graduated many years ago, they always offer advice and guidance and are happy to help where they can. IBM has a great culture and provide lots of opportunities for us to put our own stamp on it. For example, I lead the Foundation Females events at IBM Hursley where me and my team think of event ideas and get them running. I think this apprenticeship exceeds expectations as apprentices are given a lot of responsibility and can take on more responisbility if they wish to take it. I don't feel less valued because I'm less experienced.

We had a 2.5 week induction when we joined IBM which introduced us to the company very nicely and also was a great opportunity to meet other apprentices and build our network. I have quarterly reviews with my Foundation Manager as well as with the tutor from Pearson College to talk about my progress and any issues or struggles I may be facing. My foundation manager is very supportive and is also very easy to talk to about any problems, which is great to know there is someone there to talk to about tricky subjects. When first joining, I think the communication between the university and the IBM programme wasn't the best and there were a few incidents where lack of communication from Pearson caused problems. However, both Pearson and IBM have really worked on this and it has improved massively. We have a selected person who is our liaison between apprentices and Pearson where we can raise any concerns which we feel need to be addressed.

Lots of support! My Foundation Manager is very supportive and always offers to help whereever and whenever she can. She even lets us call her on her days off! When we have our quarterly reviews she always offers guidance and she has now set up quarterly group sessions with myself and 3 other apprentices where we can talk about our End Point Assessment and start preparing/ motivating/ sharing ideas for that. My line manager is also hugely supportive and is always happy to give me days off to study when I have an exam or deadlines coming up. She is always willing to cover my day job if needed when I take these days off, as are the rest of my team.

Pearson are quite supportive, but as lecturers are industry professionals, it can take time to get feedback on work or questions and the responses aren't always overly helpful (I assume because they may be too busy to read it all). So feedback on work can be improved. Trevor, who mentors EPAs, seems very passionate about helping and supporting us through this period and I feel he will be great guidance during this process.

When learning topics in modules there are times where I can relate it to the work. For example, when learning about leadership styles - I think about the people I work with and my managers and can put the learning into real-life context. However, not all modules will be useful to our own individual roles. E.g I'm not in a marketing role, to the marketing module won't be hugel useful in my day role - and this will be different for each apprentice, but that doesn't make the module any less important.

IBM have lots of extra-curricular opportunities available to people. They have sports teams like Netball and Football, they have a social event on the first wednesday of every month where top people in your sector give a little update and have a bar tab and sometimes food. There's a lot of events ran by a wide range of communities, and I am part of the events team for Pacify and the events lead for Foundation Females, so that provides lots of opportunities for networking events and talks.

Yes

I think this is a great opporunity to learn and get qualificiations and experiences whilst getting paid. As a degree apprentice, I am saving huge amounts of money on not going to univeristy where tuition fees are forever growing. I'm not just saving money, but making money and also learning how to handle finances and what it's like to have a steady income. I'd like to think by the end of my apprenticeship, I will be more attractive to employers with 3 years of experiences in a global company, as well as having a BA (hons) degree, than someone fresh out of uni.

The application process is quite long, so you need to be patient and persevere because getting onto the programme is definitely worth all the work put in to get there. For the interview, its important to be prepared and maybe even google typical interview questions and practice these. The Foundation Managers interviewing you will know that you're unlikely to have bundles of experience in the workplace and interviews, so just be yourself and try think about what makes you stand out from the other candidates, something that will make you memorable.