Rose, the Apprentice who excelled in IT!

Rose, the Apprentice who excelled in IT!

Rose is a former Apprentice who completed her Apprenticeship recently at Driffield School as an IT Helpdesk Technician Apprentice. Here we take a look at her journey 🗺️

Rose is also the proud owner of 3 fish tanks, including one featuring 4 Chinese fire-belly newts! (They look as cool as they sound by the way!)

At the end of college, Rose was unsure of which to take her next step, she considered university but felt like she didn’t know what to do just yet. It would be a waste of a loan, money and time for her. The idea of “earning whilst learning” in particular appealed to Rose. With a real passion for IT, this route seemed like the better alternative to university for her.

The support Rose was provided from both HBTC and Driffield Secondary School helped her achieve impressive feats! Her initial responsibilities consisted of changing toners and shadowing the other 2 team members when going to fix more technical problems.

As of now, Rose is currently in charge of all badges that operate the doors/barriers, Cubase which is software used by the Music department, label printers for the kitchens, CCTV footage for the whole school (along with a member of the pastoral team) and the renewal of pcs both in classrooms, computer rooms and offices. Rose also helps with toner changes, printer fixes, projectors issues, pc problems, replacing or adding monitors, fixing amps, installing software and ordering items such as toners.

After completion of her apprenticeship, Rose has continued her employment with Driffield School, now as a Computer Technician. This involves monitoring the helpdesk for any support tickets and communicating with staff around the school. Rose checks computers regularly to spot problems early and replace older models with new faster ones. Whilst also assisting the pastoral and site teams a lot with CCTV.

We decided to ask a few more questions, here are Rose’s responses:

How do you think you have developed as a person and professionally during your apprenticeship?

I have become a lot more confident and feel like I actually know how to fix problems when they occur. I am able to take charge of projects and work on my own as proven when both the other 2 members of the team take the same day off. I can prioritise what jobs need attention first and have maintained a spreadsheet of all assets and stocks that is updated regularly. I have also been invited over to the main site in the school’s trust in Hull to help out with training days and learn about how they manage their switches over there.

What advice would you give to others thinking about doing an apprenticeship?

If you really don’t know what to do after college/school go for an apprenticeship. If you find you don’t want to be in that job role at least you have been earning money and experience rather than losing it doing a university course and can try another job or apprenticeship once you have completed it. You get plenty of support throughout the course both in and out of the job as your tutor/teacher is only an email or phone call away. You end up with a qualification at the end and if you enjoy that role/job then there is the chance the employer keeps you on or you pursue further training to increase your knowledge.

What advice would you give to others starting an apprenticeship?

Keep at it, if you feel like there is too much work or you just need help. Talk to your trainer about it as every job is different. If you need more time to complete any assignments, just ask. Just remember you are getting paid for this, there are no loans to pay back and you will have a qualification at the end.

What would you say to employers thinking of recruiting an apprentice?

Give an apprentice a chance, they can do just as much as someone already qualified with just a little bit of training. They do pretty much the same hours with a small period of time to do any work set but the provider.

What would you say about HBTC?

They’re a really good provider, really supportive and knowledgeable about their areas. They have a good range of courses that are applicable to lots of job roles.

What are your future career aspirations?

I am not sure really, it will probably be to be in charge of an IT team at a school or similar setting. To be able to decide the direction that IT is put towards.

If Rose has inspired you and you would like to start your career in the IT sector, then take a look at our vacancies!