Public Sector IT Sales Apprentice Review

I am a Public Sector Sales Apprentice who is based in the London Office in Liverpool Street. I sell all types of IT to Primary Schools and have just been allowed to target Secondary Schools too. My region is below Birmingham. I sell things such as hardware, software, managed print services etc.

I have definitely learn new skills. On a day to day basis, I am reaching out to old and new customers. This job has allowed me to gain the confidence to speak to anyone on the phone. Similarly, through extensive training sessions with Softcat internally and externally with Remit, I have learnt about amazing things such as the Psychology of Sales, virtual body language, security, cloud usage etc. I am always learning things on the job - no two days are the same.

I thoroughly love my job. As an Apprentice who joined Softcat from Sixth Form, I have been made very welcome in the company - have joined different groups such as Women in Business and the Green Team. Also, I have really enjoyed the work culture; it is fun, interesting, passionate and new. I honestly didn't think I would love my job and the company as much as I do working here at Softcat.

My programme is very structured. Although the induction was virtual, we were sent our own devices weeks in advance, had a few calls with my team before the starts date and had meetings all day for 3 weeks in our induction. Training is both internally with Public Sector training every Monday and Sales Seminars once a week too. Also externally we work with Remit and have 3 days a month on Zoom which is very interactive and exciting. I have a mentor and I was also given the opportunity to mentor students in an Academy. There are an even amount of Apprentices within all the teams. I have my manager to reach out to for support, my mentor, my colleagues, my team leader, my 'buddy' etc. I know what I am meant to do each quarter by having an Apprentice Kick off too.

I receive lots of support from my employer. My manager and I have a one to one meeting once a week. We have talks everyday on Teams. I have Teams groups with the fellow London apprentices, with all the apprentices in my cohort, with my public sector team etc. I am being told every day that there are people to reach out to for support.

I receive extensive amounts of support from my training provider - Remit. I have two main contacts at the training provider and have been on several teams calls and have sent and received lots of emails too. The second I have a query, I will email it over and both will reply back ASAP.

Remit - which is our training provider - has definitely helped me perform in my role and helps me everyday. I have learn about different IT avenues in depth such as Unified Collaboration and Security, which has helped me perform on my calls. Also, I have learnt about interesting things such as virtual body language on Teams calls which allows me to perform better on meetings with customers.

There are several extra-curricular activities to get involved in: Kick off events, Coffee roulette (the whole company joins a Zoom call and gets assigned into random breakout rooms while we drink coffee!), Green Team meetings, SWIB (supporting women in business) meetings. I have been both a mentor and a mentee for an external Academy.

Yes

I absolutely love my role, my team, my company, my office location. From the beginning of my Apprenticeship, I have learnt so much every day and continue to learn and grow as both a person and as an IT Account Manager. I have already referred Softcat to a few of my friends. The paths that you can take are also incredible - my manager was an Apprentice last year. Knowing that I can take on this much responsibility in a few years is amazing.

Everyday is different at Softcat - so much fun, excitement, innovation etc. If you don't want to get bored - apply!! The application process is very well structured. in the interview process, they need to be themselves. Softcat embraces all different people and experiences so it is vital for you to be passionate about people, love to learn and show your true selves.