To be surprised by the dearth of decent IT apprenticeships in a supposed tech hotspot (Manchester) ?

[Sanguinesuzy]

Ds1 has just completed his A'levels. Not expected to get stellar grades but equally not horrendous ones either. He was adamant he didn't want to go to uni. Also painfully aware that realistically his grades weren't good enough for a decent uni but didn't want to end up at a poorly regarded one but be thousands of pounds in debt all the same. He's also dyslexic and has had to surmount some fairly big academic challenges. Good GCSEs but felt a bit fed up with classroom learning. Last few weeks/months he's been applying for IT apprenticeships. He's done a cracking cover letter and cv but unfortunately heard nothing back as yet. He can't drive (although hoping to start learning in a few weeks) so his options are limited to home town and central manchester. Anything beyond that and he's literally travelling for hours on public transport and spending most of his earnings. Most of the posts are with companies not related to IT (dairy, bed company ) so I'm not sure how IT focused they will be (but appreciate we all have to start somewhere). He's now thinking about doing a HND in software design at our local uni which tbh isn't the best but may help him get a foot in the door later.
I'm just surprised about how little opportunities there are in this field considering there's a massive skills shortage plus we live 12 miles from a city supposedly full of tech firms. In our town there is literally 1 apprenticeship in IT (town of 300,000 people). Even in manchester probably 15 -20 in total. Just wondered if any tech specialists had any advise about apprenticeships, decent courses an 18 year old could do to improve his CV. Would a hnd/hnc in software design make him more employable ? Thanks in advance !

Some great advice here. Funnily enough he really wanted to join the RAF to do a cybersecurity apprenticeship. Unfortunately he has an eye condition (keracotonnus) which is a prohibited medical
condition. The Army are offering a similar one and I believe their entry requirements regarding physical health are not so stringent so maybe that's an option.

@Librarypig The GMACs website looks good. Didn't even know about it even though we've been on every website going..or thought we had !

@Sanguinesuzy

Some great advice here. Funnily enough he really wanted to join the RAF to do a cybersecurity apprenticeship. Unfortunately he has an eye condition (keracotonnus) which is a prohibited medical condition. The Army are offering a similar one and I believe their entry requirements regarding physical health are not so stringent so maybe that's an option.

Oh that sucks, if he would be interested it's worth enquiring again, the civil service also run some annually but would probably be a case of relocating

Give a thought to the Rail Academy's kickstart scheme - IT doesn't only mean desktop computers and servers, tech is used throughout the railway.

There are apprenticeships but they do attract the brightest and the best, and are very oversubscribed. If you can secure one, you get a job and the opportunity to earn a degree without incurring student debts.

https://careers.sky.com/earlycareers/apprenticeships/

Alternative entry routes are as PP mentioned, it support, testing, customer support. You have to be quite the go getter to excel in that kind of role to be promoted.

It's not easy however as a media / technology company we are always recruiting, location bling and just can't find enough suitable people.

Can he not commute to Manchester on public transport until he learns to drive? That would broaden his options

@MadeOfStarStuff Yes he can and will. He's quite happy to do that.

[quote Sanguinesuzy]@CaptainMerica Yes, there are loads of jobs in IT support/first line helpdesk. Could they be a way in ?[/quote]
That's what he wants. Best foot in the door.

@FinallyHere

There are apprenticeships but they do attract the brightest and the best, and are very oversubscribed. If you can secure one, you get a job and the opportunity to earn a degree without incurring student debts.

https://careers.sky.com/earlycareers/apprenticeships/

Alternative entry routes are as PP mentioned, it support, testing, customer support. You have to be quite the go getter to excel in that kind of role to be promoted.

It's not easy however as a media / technology company we are always recruiting, location bling and just can't find enough suitable people.

You do, but it happens. It's happened on my team. It's great to see!

Wrong quote sorry! That was re entry level roles and promotion

I think we may need to change his cover letter tbh. He's explained that he enjoys coding and gaming in his cv. Talked about DOE award and NCS experience but not much about self directed computer stuff, projects etc.
Personally I'd be happier if he could do a HND, learn to drive and then look. His A'levels aren't top drawer, he'd be a bit more mature.

I would imagine COVID also has a lot to do with it. Our IT department is still largely working from home and I would think lots of others are too. It’s hard to train up an apprentice remotely.

Has he considered cybersecurity

www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/-627153

It's a growing career path with some excellent opportunities.

Has he tried Accenture? They do degree apprenticeships in IT. I’m sure they’re based in Manchester.

If he’s interested in IT he really should be looking for entry level - IT Service Desk/Help Desk/First Line. This will give him an excellent start and a foot in the door. Apprenticeships in the current times are tricky - were all partly working from home and reluctant to take in new in our area as we know we can’t give people the experience they deserve. Starting on Service Desk will give him exposure to everything IT has to offer, the he can see what he’s really interested in. It may be something he’s not heard of before!

Also - focus on customer service. I have hired people with limited IT experience based on their customer service skills- it’s easier to teach technical than customer service. I do lots of interviewing in this area.

Also - tick the ITIL box by doing some learning around this. It’s dull as ditchwater but helps with shortlisting.

Look for these sort of roles in NHS / Local Government/HE - (might also be called support analyst / agent / technician).

limited IT experience based on their customer service skills

Just wanted to say how much I agree with this.

It's much much easier to add some technical skills to someone with the right attitude than it is to get someone who loves the technology to realise that, no matter how interesting they find this exception, what the business snd the people running the business need is for it to work , now. Or an alternative, workable solution solution.

Really appreciate all this advice !

Sorry this isn't my area of expertise.

But if he does the HND he can do it in a couple of years if he puts the time in. He can then credit transfer to a degree which would mean he'd have a year of study for a degree if he felt that was the route to take (and a degree for an IT field probably is).

However, a HND won't be overly hands on so if he can get some part time work or voluntary shadowing or something that would probably benefit him.

Hi OP, I recommend your son gets in contact with Cyber Pro Academy. Based in Manchester, they do cyber risk related apprenticeships. They might also be able to advise on the current market.

Hi, I’m a Manchester developer. Been in the tech scene here about 5 years.

First off, there are definitely lots of opportunities and jobs out there, but only in certain fields, such as development and engineering. If he’s looking at more generic “IT” that would be roles requiring office skills and IT support which hasn’t got the same skill shortage, nor is it as lucrative.

Software Development can be learned at a bootcamp (there’s a prominent Manchester one and they’re very very good). But the Uni course might be OK also - hopefully it will include front and back end, HTML/CSS/Javascript but it also needs to be modern, React and semantic HTML and modern styling. You don’t want a course stuck in the 1990s (jQuery) or just for bland editors (Wordpress.)

He could also learn front-end development for free on Free Code Camp, Codecademy and with popular online bootcamp courses like Wes Box and Colt Steele. Now THIS is where it gets good. Junior React developer is where he could focus his energy and find work. Firms are crying out for enthusiastic, passionate new devs.

However, is he interested and academic enough to pursue it? Because it's passion and skill that gets you hired.

A lot of apprenticeships will be postponed, as the majority of IT workers are all working from home.

They might start appearing again around September when offices have settled into mostly hybrid workspaces