Cyber Security Apprentice Review

My first role was in the Security and Awareness teams, my day to day duties varied from making resources for communications with the company, doing awareness presentations to different areas of the business and running virtual escape rooms. I have just started a placement in the cyber operations team where I will be working on incidents and triaging threats to the company.

My Excel skills have developed a lot since starting my apprenticeship I attended a course when I first started that gave me a refresher to excel. This has been really useful during my first placement we always use excel to present data and use it in our team hubs. I have also had the opportunity to develop my presenting skills, I attended a course which gave me a lot of insight in the best ways to present, and all the apprentices have had to give a presentation to our managers to help us practice.

I really enjoy my programme, it gives the opportunity to work across 8 different teams within Cyber Security you know there is always something exciting around the corner. I also have had the opportunity to meet some of the other apprentices in person when attending training courses, this was really nice because it is difficult starting a job working from home. But overall it has been the best it could have been considering how things are at the moment.

The sequence of placements has been well thought out so you are not thrown in at the deep end. The National Grid Academy have been great at planning all our training and organising our induction into the company. Estio the training provider could have been a bit better at communicating the dates for the training but all issues have now been sorted.

I receive a lot of support from my employer, I have a business coordinator who organises my placements. They give me a lot of support, if I need anything I can always give them a call. We also have weekly 1-1 check in meetings to see how I am getting on.

I have a development coach from the training provider who I meet with on a monthly basis to make sure I am on track with everything. I also get a lot support from my trainer who runs all my training. They set us projects to do and give us feedback on them.

So far I have attended a networking course, this has helped me when starting in the cyber operations placement as it has given me an appreciation for what I am working on. It helps me to understand the different IP traffic that comes in to our networks. As I get further into my apprenticeship I will get to do lot more courses that are also extremely relevant to my job.

Yes there are lots of events you can get involved in. In normal times there would be a lot more going on but at the minute we are limited by what can be done virtually. But there is online escape rooms and coffee breaks where you can chat with new employees in the business.

Yes

It is a great company to work for there are so many opportunities to progress into a whole host of different roles within the Security. The fact that you get to study while you work as well is another great reason to consider doing an apprenticeship with National Grid. Also the opportunity to meet new people and other apprentices is great. It also feels like a family and everyone is there to support each other when they need it.

Make sure that your CV and cover letter are to a good standard, and also to make sure any game based assessments are completed on time. Try and be yourself but also let your experience shine through during any recorded or live interviews. My assessment centre was virtual so I can't comment on what it is like doing one in person.