Cyber Security Apprentice Review

In my final year I am working in my chosen placement I would like to do as a full time job, this is cyber security consultancy. In this placement, I am learning how to provide guidance and auditing based services to government bodies and private-sector companies along a broad spectrum of industries.

Building up from the skills I have learned previously, I have learnt how to interact with customers one-on-one as well as how to conduct research and produce a professional report as a deliverable for our customers. I have also learned how to manage my time with different projects ensuring I can work optimally.

I love working with Cyber Consulting within Leonardo, I have got a chance to work an interesting array of projects which has developed my insight into Leonardo as a company, the industries we cater to, and the cyber security industry. The work is challenging and can be overwhelming at times however this has helped me build resilience and understand how manage my workload, personal development and to a degree, my emotions.

The program has been pretty well organised from the start, my managers have been ensuring that I have work to do and I am learning from the projects I undertake. My line manager holds weekly meetings to track my progress. I was also assigned a mentor from the start of my placement who has been giving me advice and leadership.

My team has been very supportive ensuring I am looked after both from a academic and work standpoint. I am have been offered many training courses and given options on my future with the team and company, my manager also ensures that whatever qualification I wish to pursue is catered and factored in as part of my development.

My training provider is fairly supportive, they are mostly available to ensure I have guidance and support towards my qualification although some tutors are not always available to answer questions or provide guidance towards coursework. Overall, guidance is very good and any feedback regarding coursework or generally on development is helpful and insightful.

My coursework compliments the work I undertake in the office, for example some units in my BTEC go hand in hand with some projects I am doing, it is helpful to see that what I learn academically can be applied to real life scenarios, both technical and non-technical. Some non-technical, academic skills like researching is very helpful for project works.

Yes, pre-pandemic there was a lot of clubs I could get involved with and even post-pandemic there are opportunities to virtually get involved with other sites at leonardo. However, as Bristol is a smaller office, there are lesser opportunities in comparison to bigger sites which have more apprentices like Luton or Edinburgh. Networking wise, before the pandemic there were bi-monthly socials however this has not picked up since.

Yes

Leonardo offers great opportunities, whether it's in cyber security, business or engineering. I have had the opportunity to travel internationally, work with amazing clients and see a side of cyber security which is not possible at university alone. Leonardo being a big company benefits from this as there is a lot of apprentices and support to lean on. The placements and managers are super helpful and motivated to help you get to your dream

I would recommend people to do their research, understand what you hope to achieve with the company and where you can go/what paths are available post-apprenticeship. I would also recommend people to have motivation, Leonardo looks to hire people who want to be there rather than people looking for a 'Plan B'.