As the anticipation, excitement and in some cases, commiserations of results week come to a close, you might find yourself, along with thousands of other school and college leavers, unsure of your next steps. The recruitment market has gone wild and there are endless opportunities available but where do you start when it comes to choosing an industry, a role, a career path?
For me, it’s a no brainer, an apprenticeship should be at the top of the list, and there’s no better industry to build a career in than tech!
Over the last 18 months, it’s become abundantly clear how reliant we all are on technology. In 2020, even the smallest and of businesses were catapulted into the 21st century having to adopt technology to keep them going.
Technology is EVERYWHERE. You can order items online with a delivery time of 2 hours, book a holiday from your phone, order food, track your health, download and stream music, access supermarket loyalty cards to name a few, and we can’t avoid talking about social media and the rise of the influencer.
But there’s a part of technology that we don’t always see. Huge organisations are investing in digital transformation from NHS trusts and city councils to the likes of Costa Coffee and MusicMagpie, and that’s where we come in.
We work to support these organisations in successfully running their businesses, and the only way we can do that is through our amazing teams, dedicated to providing the best possible customer experience.
Everyone has to start somewhere, and apprenticeships are hands down one of the best ways to get into the industry. There is always a lot to learn when you’re first starting out, an apprenticeship provides you with the breathing room to slowly increase and embed your knowledge and build an exciting career.
Not convinced yet? Let me continue…
1. ANS Academy or University?
Universities do a great job, but how do they address the constantly changing tech landscape? 3 years ago, ANS’ services were completely different to what they are now because the worlds needs have changed and tech has had to develop at a rapid pace in order to meet new demands, so we have amended our apprenticeship curriculum to match. When it comes to tech, traditional universities act as cruise ships and tech organisations as speed boats – when something changes, we can move really quickly whilst universities can take a while to change direction as they are usually large institutions bound to providing the course students signed up for.
Apprenticeship standards are also built with significant input from employers and reviewed regularly, meaning the skills outlined in the apprenticeship course align directly with skills required in the market.
We’re lucky to be in a unique position being the employer and the training provider so we have more say in what you learn. When Microsoft launch a new certification, we can provide the resources you need to study for it the next day. If there are skills we know we will need in 6 months’ time, we can add them into the curriculum making the decision one day, and implementing it the next!
2. Get paid to learn
You’ll find no student debt here! The average student leaves uni with £40k of debt and little real-world experience. During an apprenticeship, all your training and certifications are paid for, and you’re also paid a salary, which at ANS increases regularly in line with your progression and apprenticeship completion.
And don’t worry, you’ll still have your weekends free to party if that’s your thing, we have plenty of social events at ANS and no doubt you’ll find loads of new friends within your cohort and the wider teams.
3. Real world experience
Apprenticeships are designed to teach you the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for your role with your learning split between classroom (‘off the job’) and hands on learning. You will only spend around 20% of your time in the classroom so the other 80% is a great opportunity to build on your experience which is invaluable to employers. At ANS you become an integral and important part of the team you join, after 12 months you will be armed with everything you need to interview for a permanent position – we aim to permanently employ every one of our apprentices following graduation, so your future is in your hands!
Not forgetting that you’ll also be surrounded by loads of really knowledgeable people willing to share their plethora of knowledge and experience with you and support you in achieving your goals.
4. Career progression opportunities
An apprenticeship is just the start of your journey, gaining 1-2 years’ experience in work puts you in a great position for promotion once you’ve completed your apprenticeship and it massively opens up the possibilities of growth in your role. We have apprentices at ANS who have been with us for 7+ years and to hear what they have achieved over that time is incredible. The majority have had 2-3 promotions, and some are now working in team leader and management roles.
An apprenticeship is a fast track to your chosen career pathway and at ANS, how quickly you choose to progress is up to you, we will provide the support, guidance and resources to achieve your ambitions, but the hard work comes from you.
5. Tech is a rapidly expanding industry
We are so reliant on tech’s contribution to our daily lives it’s only ever going to be a growing industry. There will be jobs in the future that we haven’t even thought about yet. Tech is forever changing and there’s always something new around the corner, even our most advanced techies at ANS are on a continuous learning journey. One thing guaranteed is that it will never get boring, and the opportunities are endless!
So what are you waiting for?
If you’re a budding techie, apply for our tech vacancies.
Find out more about our apprentice academy.
We have several non-technical apprenticeships available including marketing and finance – click here to view all available vacancies.
