Apprenticeships can be a great option for those looking to upskill or reskill at their jobs.
During National Apprenticeship Week, we caught up with Julia Brisbane from Computacenter, who has just such an experience.
Julia had been with Computacenter for over 25 years when the opportunity arose to do an Apprenticeship.
Julia had moved through different roles and departments within the company; at the time, her title was Data Analyst.
She had moved over from a smaller team, which meant she had to look at a lot more data than she was used to. “I felt like the developers on my team were talking a completely different language, Data Analyst language, that I just hadn’t been exposed to.”
One day, while talking to a colleague, she learned about Apprenticeships. “They’re not just for 17-year-olds,” her colleague said; “we can do them internally.”
After college, Julia had done a generic business course at Level 3; shortly after, she’d started working for Computacenter. Now, her situation had changed.
“I knew a little bit, but I wanted to know the official, correct way of doing things.
And, with the kids being older, I wanted to do something for me.”
After talking to her manager, Julia reached out to the Computacenter Apprenticeship team. “They showed me the exact curriculum and helped me decide which programme would be best.” Building on her Level 3, Julia chose Data Analyst Level 4. The entire process, from deciding to do this to starting, took six months.
Some people on the course were fresh out of college, but most were not. “It was a really nice mix,” Julia said. Sadly, she didn’t get to meet them in person, as, shortly after the course started, the UK went into lockdown and classes moved online.
“During lockdown, everyone needed IT. We were one of the busiest departments in the company; business was manic. Major reporting projects took priority, and I also factored in time to study. My son was doing his university dissertation too… it felt like everyone was studying from home!”
Luckily, Julia’s manager was very accommodating, and her apprenticeship projects, while time-consuming, helped her learn very well. “Normally, at a job, you don’t have to write the work up after you do it, but having to analyse it like this was really educational.”
Writing assignments took some getting used to, “but my Firebrand Learning Mentor helped me reword them the right way, going through the matrix of things I had to cover. This support was a very different experience from when I went to school!”
The best part of the course was being exposed to all different sides of reporting, which she had never experienced at work. She learned new ways of understanding data, how to tackle and approach a project rather than muddle through, and became “much more confident” and in control of her job.
Julia finished her Apprenticeship a year ago and already wants to do another one.
She’s currently a Report Developer on the Group Reporting Team, which has grown significantly, incorporating other teams in France, Hungary, and Germany. For her next Apprenticeship, she’s thinking of Data Science.
Her advice? “If you’re looking for a certification to clarify what you know, I would recommend an apprenticeship. Make sure you’re aware of what you’re taking on, as you need to keep track of everything, and don’t be afraid to dedicate time to yourself and your own development.”
Thank you for talking to us, Julia! We hope to see you on another apprenticeship soon.