Q&A ramsac Support Apprentice

apprentice blog 2

Here at ramsac we are passionate about helping people build solid careers. Every year for the last eight, we have recruited at least one IT Apprentice, as position typically filled by school leavers post A Level or College. We believe that IT careers are very practical, and with the wide variety of clients that we support, we can give interested candidates huge exposure to a vast range of business technology. Our apprentice scheme lasts a year and leads directly into a career in our first line support team, with a post apprenticeship career and training path all mapped out. We are really proud that many of our apprentices are employed with us several years after they have qualified, with some now serving in leadership or more senior technical positions.

I sat down with our current apprentice, Joel Gidley, to find out why he chose to be an apprentice at ramsac and how he has found the experience.

Q: Hi Joel, thank you for taking the time to answer a couple of questions about your experience of being an apprentice. What made you decide to start your career as an apprentice?

A: Hi Samantha. I wanted to start as an apprentice as it suits my learning style of being practical. I knew that I would be able to learn more by being interactive and learning on the job, whilst getting a qualification and gaining experience without the huge debt that university can bring.

Q: Why did you choose ramsac to do your apprenticeship?

A: I was lucky enough to have had a friend who had been to ramsac for work experience and I knew a few of the clients we have. All of them fedback that ramsac had a real community feel and friendly nature, which made it a great place to start my career. I wanted to be part of a company that puts people first and ramsac was offering just that!

Q: What are the benefits of being an apprentice?

As an apprentice, I have received regular training courses although have largely had the same job as most of the first-line support team for a while.

The biggest advantages for me came at the start of the job, I started with very little confidence and whilst I had a technical background I had almost no server knowledge and no customer service experience.

I felt that as an apprentice, I had the freedom to work at my own pace and didn’t feel that I had high expectations I had to meet. This allowed me to keep my confidence, always ask when I was stuck, and I felt supported the whole way through my journey.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

My plans are to be a part of the Second line team. This is so I have increased exposure to more complex and technically in-depth cases. By using this knowledge, I hope to apply this to a more cybersecurity centred role. Although I am unsure if this would be within 5 years or longer, but I would like to stay at ramsac for a while yet.

Q: What advice would you have for someone trying to decide between an apprenticeship or further education?

I firmly believe that experience on the job has taught me more than Uni ever could and that it will kickstart my career directly in the field I want to be in. I’ve done this whilst being able to avoid the debt associated with Uni. I believe that further education can be done at any age and I am already considering the open university and weekend degree schemes to go alongside work, so it doesn’t have to be one or the other, but right now I have a job, with good career prospects, some certifications and I’m debt-free.

If you are interested in a career in IT and are thinking of doing an apprenticeship click the link below to find out more.

Related Posts

  • Evolution of our Technical Support Team

    Evolution of our Technical Support Team

    ramsac

    Since 2019 our Technical Support Team has grown and changed dramatically. In this blog we review how the team has evolved and developed. [...]

    Read article

  • Introducing ramsac’s Environment, Social & Governance Policy

    Introducing ramsac’s Environment, Social & Governance Policy

    ramsac

    We have published our Environmental, Social & Governance Policy, as a public declaration of our commitment to being a responsible business. [...]

    Read article

  • Starting 2024 with an exciting new business vision and a new leadership structure.

    Starting 2024 with an exciting new business vision and a new leadership structure.

    ramsac

    We are thrilled to announce we are starting 2024 with some exciting new goals and a strategic change to the leadership of the business. [...]

    Read article

  • Merry Christmas from ramsac!

    Merry Christmas from ramsac!

    ramsac

    We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and we would like to thank all of our clients and partners for your support in 2023. [...]

    Read article

  • ramsac support cover Christmas and New Year 2023

    ramsac support cover Christmas and New Year 2023

    ramsac

    With the countdown to Christmas well underway, we wanted to give you some notice about our Christmas support and delivery arrangements [...]

    Read article

  • Celebrating receiving our Carbon Neutral certificate for another year

    Celebrating receiving our Carbon Neutral certificate for another year

    ramsac

    ramsac is highly invested in being more carbon friendly, and we are thrilled to be Carbon Neutral for a 3rd year in a row. [...]

    Read article

Quiz yourself

Are you more cyber savvy than an 11 year old?

11-14 year olds get asked these questions in school. Could you get these right?