When deciding where I wanted to go with my life after college and a string of jobs that I didn’t wholeheartedly enjoy, I decided that the best step forward was to take a step back. So, I thought long and hard about whether or not an apprenticeship would be worth doing and in the grand scheme of things it was a difficult decision.
I knew that my current skill-set was lacking and while I could teach myself the basics, I knew that real-world experience was the best way to develop IT skills. What made this difficult was that I would have to start from scratch and go back to college. I came to the conclusion that this was the best way to get into a career that I would genuinely enjoy.
How I found Collier Pickard
I spent a long-time researching IT apprenticeship’s and found it to be the equivalent of hopping through a minefield with one leg. Some places did offer roles but I felt that they expected you to know everything already (which defeats the idea of an apprenticeship) and others gave me the impression that they viewed an apprentice as just cheap labour. I also worried that some places would throw you in the deep end without adequate support.
The thought of any of those things happening terrified me, mainly because this burden would be dropped on you almost instantly and you’d be expected to just get on with it.
QA
Luckily, I found QA (who specialise in finding apprentices) and they thought I would be a good match for Collier Pickard. So, they put me in touch. When I starting looking into Collier Pickard, I found myself thinking “this is too good to be true.”
During the interview process for Collier Pickard, I was told that previous apprentices still work within the company and have stayed on for several years after their apprenticeships ended. This was reassuring for me as I’d imagine that had the apprenticeship programme here been bad, they would have left if they hadn’t enjoyed it.
It was encouraging knowing that Collier Pickard has done a good job of retaining their apprentices. This was a big deal for me since looking for a new job in 2019 is incredibly difficult and the idea of working at a company that offers you progression in a field that you have an actual interest in is like hitting the job hunting jackpot.
What am I hoping to get out of my apprenticeship at Collier Pickard?
The main thing I hope to achieve with my apprenticeship at Collier Pickard is to learn as much as I can about Software Development. That’s my main motivation as the idea of being able to create my own piece of software that automates something in your day-to-day life is just such a cool idea.
In my first few weeks here at Collier Pickard, I’ve already got my feet wet with some aspects of Software Development and I’m loving it so far. If I were to say what my aspirations will be five years down the line, I would want to have learned as much as I can about software development and be a jack-of-all-trades in my particular role whilst still being at Collier Pickard, as I genuinely can’t see myself being given the opportunity for career growth in a field that I have a real interest anywhere else.
I know it’s early days for me at Collier Pickard and it is down to me to push myself, but knowing that I’m part of a company that understands that I don’t have all the answers and is willing to invest time and resources into helping me become a top employee is such a comforting feeling.
