Apprentice - Business Support - Network Designer Review

I am learning to design and maintain networks for global clients, currently as an understudy to a professional and learning from them. My day-to-day involves shadowing meetings to gain the customer-facing skills, as well as being supported step by step in different technical tasks until I am ready to do them myself.

I have learned some Cisco technical skills since I started, whether it be from revising for the CCNA exam or from carrying out the work myself or shadowing my mentor. I have also learned some very important database skills through the University course, as well as Excel skills that I use in day to day work.

I enjoy the program a lot, it has opened me up to IT-related skills that I had not had the chance to work on before when in school and college, as well as letting me build on those that I have encountered before. I feel it will really help me to achieve my lifetime goals.

The program is well organised, I have 2 days allocated for learning in the week and 3 for working on workplace skills and knowledge. This allows me to exceed the time allocated each week for my apprenticeship whilst also ensuring I have plenty of time to work on my university coursework and revision.

As much support as I require, whenever I need support I only have to ask and they will do their best. There is always someone who is able to help whether it be in the office or over teams/ email. It is also quite often that help is brought to us as apprentices before we require it.

I receive a lot of support from the University, we have a structured timetable from the lecturers for help regarding assignments, as well as them being on hand via email continuously. We also have regular meetings with the course leader to bring up any issues apprentices may have with the courses.

I feel that some of the modules especially have built skills like problem-solving for me which have become an essential skill in my role. This was certainly built in the Data and Databases module when trying to find issues with script code, which is a skill i now use in my role

There are many invites for extracurricular activities each month, some for social events with other apprentices as well as with wider colleagues as well. These include sports events like weekly football as well as other team socials like attending ball halls, and charity events such as hiking and volunteering events.

Yes

I would recommend an apprenticeship with BT to a friend because the company is very supportive when it comes to the university aspect of the course, as well as providing good training via mentors in the workplace. I also like the environment in BT, everyone is very nice and helpful whether they are a mentor or not, and the office is a nice and friendly place to work from day one.

One tip I would give is to not worry about being underqualified for the role. The training you receive across the apprenticeship is good and means you will be a professional by the end. Another tip I would give is to do some background revision for CCNA before your start day to give you good ground for staring.