Techical Adviser Review

I am a Technical Adviser for Boots IT. I work in the Collaboration team which involves working with Sharepoint. On a day to day basis I act as a Support Analyst which means I create sites for customers, help fix issues along with colleagues and review weekly statistics. I am responsable for replying to customers, picking up issues and reporting them, creating sites, editing sites and lots more! I will be getting involved with a project within my team to improve stores communication and improve their buisness process.

I will be recieving a L3 Diploma for ICt Systems and Principals for ICT Professionals and a L3 Diploma in ICT Professional Competence along with 4 Microsoft qualifications. All of my training is inhouse however the college (QA) is external but they come to Boots. I have developed my personal skills vastly to the extent I am confidently talking to third party companys in India and also talking to Directors of the company. I have learnt new time management skills, team skills, technical skills, practical skills and thinking skills.

I enjoy work so much! Honestly, I would never advise prioritising going to college over an Apprenticeship. I had the option to go to college, work or sixth form and I chose an Apprenticeship over all of them. My team is great, I get to travel accross the building and when i'm 18 there is opportunity to travel different countries...The culture in Boots is better than I expected, Boots take care of their employees (e.g. out of the blue half day as a Christmas present) and the Boots employee discount! I over-met my expectations, I was shocked about how much responsability i'd be given. Yes, I enjoy it more than anything, and the top bit of advice is yes, I do have a good social life.

My manager treats me the same as a fully paid employee. I am given the same amount of responsabilty and credit as anyone else in the company. I have attended events which allow you to send your ideas to directors of the company, my team won therefore I got recognised for it, the opportunity to get recognised is always there, you just have to be dedicated.

Our induction was 2/3 weeks long, it was an in dept induction with HR which was very relaxed. It showed us how to become a Boots employee and 'Boots person' as well as covering all of the essencials as well as open time for questions (+ free food). Our training is with one of the best ICT colleges in the UK, they are OFSTED 'good' and provide Apprentices with amazing training which is broken down so we can take it in easily. We always have the opportunity to see HR and our mentors as well as contacting them on Microsoft Lync. I have time to study at work and at home (I prefer to do it at work), I ask my manager if I can have time and she will happily accept, in some teams they allocate weekly times however in mine its more relaxed. 1-2 times a month I will have a meeting with my mentor (who is a higher apprentice graduate) who gives me advice on how to tackle issues and progress in the company. I also have meeting with my line manager (1-2-1's) weekly as well as meetings with the Learning & Development team. Our program is the first 16-18 year old apprenticeship that Boots have done therefore it was a trial and error, but thankfully there were very few errors. Boots will be asking us for feedback so they can make the apprenticeship in tip top condition for next years!

We see our adviser once every three months. We can contact numerous people at QA for support and they try and reply ASAP. We have contacts for bullying and health and safety (not that i've ever had to use them) and other support. QA are always happy to hear from use despite if we do not complete the tasks on time. I thoughroughly enjoy the program.

I recieve lots of support! This was fed back from one of the Higher Apprenticeship grads that more support was needed. It is optional if we need the support however its always nice to have a catch up from time to time.

Very well! It is vastly higher than Apprenticeship minimum wage. It allows me to pay board to my parents, pay for a bus card, purchase food for myself. It leaves me with alot more than expected to spend on social time (however i'd recommened saving some!).

We have company charity events for charities such as Macmillan. We also have outside football events (Power League is down the road) therefore there is an opportunity to get competative.

Yes

Its such a good company. Many benefits, good working hours, excellent pay, good working enviroment and the most up-to-date technology.

Make sure your CV is tip top! Present yourself as positive, dedicated and interested during your interview. Write your application and attend your interview with passion and involve technical knowledge! Attend assessment days to make sure you are right for the role and get some work experience in IT. I'd have liked to be told to dress smart, act mature, be interested and make yourself stand out (in a good way, no extravagant clothing ext).