National Apprenticeship Week 2024: Q&A with IT Technician Apprentice Kyle

As the 17th annual National Apprenticeship Week begins we’re delighted to share our Q&A with Kyle #NAW2024

Kyle is currently studying his Level 3 Information Communications Technician apprenticeship.  He joined the organisation in October 2023 after completing his A Levels, and the apprenticeship will last around 15 months.  Here, he talks about why he did an apprenticeship, his experiences in the working world, and his hopes for the future.

Tell us about your apprenticeship:  As an IT Technician Apprentice, my daily duties involve setting up new equipment like desktops, laptops, network equipment and mobile phones. I spend one day a week at Peterhouse School and spend the rest of my time at Autism Initiatives head office, where I look after IT for all of their services across the UK and Ireland.

I deal with IT queries from staff by telephone and emails, and enjoy meeting people from all over the organisation. The jobs I’ll carry out range from repairing and installing equipment and programs to troubleshooting Network problems within the Services.

How did you find out about the apprenticeship?  I did IT at A Level and enjoyed it. During the summer after finishing sixth form, I was looking for an apprenticeship on the GOV.UK website, and registered with Estio. They asked me to create a video about myself, my skills and what I was looking for. They sent it off to several potential employers, and I got an interview with Autism Initiatives a week later. I was told that I had been successful in my interview and started the role soon after that.

How do you find studying and working?  I have a good system of using one day a week to do my college work at home. I also have monthly review sessions with my manager to see how I’m getting on. Certain times are busier at work, so my job will take priority, but there are also less busy times like Christmas holidays when I put more time towards working on my assignment.

Describe your relationship with your team:  There are four of us in the IT team. I enjoy working with them as we all get on. If I need advice on an issue then I’ll usually go to the IT Support Engineer, Jordan, who was an apprentice on the team himself a few years ago before gaining his Level 4 qualification and becoming a full-time member of the team.

Would you recommend doing an apprenticeship to other young people?  I always recommend doing an apprenticeship to my friends. Many people don’t know what they want to do for a career or end up leaving university as it’s not for them. If that’s the case, then do an apprenticeship and spend 1-2 years getting some valuable experience in the working world. You can earn money and get a good idea of what it’s like to have a job. Even if you don’t go down the career path that your apprenticeship is in, then it’s still worthwhile you’ve still got a qualification under your belt and valuable experience. You can always go on to university later on, once you’ve got a better idea of the field you want to go in to.

What are your next steps?  I have another 11-12 months left of my apprenticeship. Once I’ve got my Level 3 qualification, I’d like to do a degree apprenticeship in Cyber Security. This would involve working for 4 days a week at Autism Initiatives and going to university on the other day.