Apprenticeships in IT

I'd love to get a job building PCs or doing repairs but there's no business for it in a smallish town. Can't find any local companies that do thing like OcUK and I live fairly far away from OcUK. Finding a job without a driving licence is a massive pain.
 
Ah ok brilliant thanks Gilly. Are they online only or can you go in and see them? I've tend to found that going into recruiters so they can see you personally is better then just another CV kind of thing.

They have shop fronts, but I'm not sure how many of them.

[edit]Branch info here.

I'd love to get a job building PCs or doing repairs but there's no business for it in a smallish town. Can't find any local companies that do thing like OcUK and I live fairly far away from OcUK. Finding a job without a driving licence is a massive pain.

There is something you can do about that though? :)
 
I'd love to get a job building PCs or doing repairs but there's no business for it in a smallish town. Can't find any local companies that do thing like OcUK and I live fairly far away from OcUK. Finding a job without a driving licence is a massive pain.

Get your licence. :) I'm currently working in a job I don't like whilst I pay for lessons and other bits and bobs. Keeps me going till I find a vacancy for a job I like the sound of.
 
I have my driving test next month, so yeah, there is something I could do about it.
I'm also not willing to set up my own store due to the lack of experience I actually have in working with companies, at 19 it wouldn't be a good idea for me to do this without any prior working experience other than building bridges for the national park.
 
Are you going directly to the companies? I would personally sign up with an IT agency like Adecco and get a placement that way.

Helps if you know someone within the company too.

Great advice Gilly. Ill have a look at them, worth a try. Was actually starting to look at HR jobs and Reception. Just to get my foot in the door.

Yeah, iv applied with both. Using Total Jobs.com and going direct. Latest one was with 123reg. Really got on well, since he loved F1 and i showed him my wheels lol. But i didnt have the certs he was after.

Joe.
 
You don’t need Uni degrees or college courses for a job in IT well at least entry level anyhow if you’re looking at apprenticeship's that is entry level so yea apprenticeship is the obvious option.

In my job in IT i have seen when we have been looking for applicants for IT support roles
CV's come in by the 100's the first thing we do is sort them into 2 piles

Experienced & NOT Experienced guess which one's go in the Bin first (ok filed away just in case lol) Yep NOT Experienced. Companies don’t have time to train you up on IT ok you know the theory and done all the Qualifications etc but with no real Experience your no good in that first few months......

Either an apprenticeship or get a IT support/helpdesk role with a company with a good training support that will send you in courses and pay for exams etc and work your way up, you will be surprised how much you will learn in the first 2-3 months on a busy helpdesk.

Another fact Companies can offer to pay non Uni & college graduates less so more likely to employ you as most Uni & collage grad's want a big basic to start paying off student loans.....

Ok i know some have done well leaving Uni and getting good IT job's but there the lucky ones it's all about getting the best odds in getting your foot in the door.

Good Luck
 
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At the minute I'm basically in an apprenticeship role even after all my time and money spent at uni, I struck lucky in finding a company that wanted a task doing but weren't fussed about someone with the relevant skills just someone who was willing to sit and learn it from the ground up without having to bug someone else all the time.

They get cheap labour or at least cheaper, I get to be the only person within the company with any real in depth working knowledge of the product and therefore fingers crossed when my temp contract runs out they'll bring me onto full time staff.
 
Cheers MuttsNutts, appreciate the information.

Yeah trying hard to get that IT support/helpdesk role I think I could do well within this.

Gilly, i've signed that Adecco registration and it asks for preferred branch location, so do they invite you down once they have gone through your registration or is that just for another purpose?
 
It's an age old question/dilemma that there's no right ordefinitive answer to, end of the day it comes down to the position, company and individual as to what matters most.

I would not have got my first IT role if I didn't have a degree, I wouldn't have been brought into my current position at the level I am without my 'professional' certification and experience.

Whilst the latter is a far better position than the former, who is to say if I'd be here without that first position, which lead to other roles before landing here.

Playing devil's advocate if I had experienced candidates going for entry level roles it would ring a small alarm bell in my head, why are they going for an entry role with x years of experience.

As has been said though a lot of it is luck, being in the right place at the right time.

I know IBM run a pretty decent apprenticeship scheme so maybe take a look on their website, not sure of any of the other large IT companies also run apprenticeship schemes or not.
 
Entry level is call-taking, support is the next step ;)

If you really put yourself out there and impress potential employers you will land a job. I had no useful IT qualifications when I left my previous job (at the age of 19) and started self-employed contracting. I was a bit lucky in that I had a contact within a local business and started pursuing that. Sure enough they offered me a 6 month contract (good money as well), which turned in to 9 months, which then turned in to a full-time permanent position. Which consequently I am leaving today (bigger and better things await!!).

Entry level roles (first line support etc) you don't need to have all the know-how. If you can show you're competent, willing to spend time to learn and can work well within a team environment then you're set to go. Anything you don't know, you ask or pick it up as you go along. Having a genuine interest in it is a great benefit as well as you're more likely to pick everything up quicker than someone that's simply there to get money to pay the bills.

Every company is different, and will look for different things in people; but if you come across as someone that's really enthusiastic and want to learn and get in to the industry, it really does put you in high regards!
 
When you say look at big companies, shall I just send my CV into "all" of them and enquire about apprenticeship schemes they may have or?
 
When you say look at big companies, shall I just send my CV into "all" of them and enquire about apprenticeship schemes they may have or?

Firstly stop ending questions with 'or'. The word is completely redundant.

Secondly I can't see any harm in contacting them all re: apprentice schemes.

I think once you're registered with Adecco you get assigned a work manager who will have a 1-to-1 with you and work out what is best to get you into work ASAP.
 
I think the easiest way to get into IT is do a placement with a company that you may want to work with in the future.

A foot in the door helps when you are already working for someone.

How do you go about getting a placement, is it like I mentioned above just a case of emailing them and enquiring?
 
How do you go about getting a placement, is it like I mentioned above just a case of emailing them and enquiring?

You ask. Send of letters or emails to the company and ask. Even better go to a company that searches for you.

The more letters and more emails you send off the better chance you will get in finding a place somewhere.

Do you have a degree? (Sorry if you've mentioned this, couldn't see). We're looking for grads ;)

Why grads?
 
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