Apprenticeship coming to an end!

[Chaddy]

My apprenticeship is about to come to an end, and I'm just wondering what I'm options are, and whether any techies in High Schools would ever consider taking on an Apprentice.

 

Before I got this Apprenticeship, I primarily wanted to get placed in an High School to begin with, however this never came to be and I ended up in a Primary School.

 

As you can imagine because the scale of IT in a Primary School is much smaller compared to that of a High School it meant that my Apprenticeship has mainly consisted of me covering staff and supporting classes with Numeracy and Literacy, and ofc when there is an IT problem people come to find me, and I go to their class to fix the problem or do it remotely if I can, depending on what the issue is.

 

I was just wondering if many High Schools take on Apprentices, as from looking around I haven't seen any, only Colleges, Small Businesses and Primary Schools.

 

I would think it would be a great learning opportunity for me to work in one as I would get a better understanding of the networking and infrastructure side of things at a bigger scale than what I understand now.

 

I know that qualifications may not be as important nowadays and experience is probably more appealing for an employer, but I still think its important that I get on an Apprenticeship which can provide me with CISCO Networking and Microsoft Certified Qualifications, because its all well and good saying you can do something but having proof for it is better.

 

My current Apprenticeship was meant to get me a level 3 in IT User skills but the people in charge of it screwed up and I only get a level 2 out of this, even though I already have a level 2 in IT (Creative Media Diploma).

I never quit and looked elsewhere as I really wanted the work experience, and as I was moving houses at the time, so I was faced with uncertainty with what I was going to do if I were to quit.

 

I am currently based in the Wigan area and I commute to work via train, meaning I can only travel between Liverpool and Manchester.

Edited June 26, 2013 by Chaddy

[L3OUGH]

I was a fellow apprentice too! Mine ended in February this year, I was based in a high school, I also got the CompTIA A+ qualification out of it. I'm now based at the high school as well as going out to a local primary school twice a week to support those guys with their infrastructure etc. It's been a brilliant learning curve. It's amazing to see how much you can learn in a year of hard work. I do think apprenticeships are the way forward and I don't think you'll have much trouble getting in somewhere as you have the experience of working with staff, students, and various IT solutions. Working in a high school is definitely a step up as like you say everything is bigger and more complex. But once you've tamed the beast it's a lovely environment to work in.

 

I hope you get a spot at a high school and I wish you all the best for the future!

[hardtailstar]

Ask the schools if you can do some volunteering. Itll be one way for experience. I did that for a year or so before I got previous job.

[Zenden]

My School will be advertising for an ICT Apprentice within the next month or so through InTraining and their apprenticeship scheme.

[Ephelyon]

We've got one who's just finished. If your current (or future) school would like some help on delivering apprenticeship programmes, I can Skype you as I was responsible for unit design and delivery for ours here.

[DynamoNickev]

Apply for tech jobs anyway. They are so low paid that sometimes they don't attract experienced applicants. At my last school we took somebody on and put them through relevant courses anyway, although they were not technically an apprentice

[witch]

Apply for tech jobs anyway. They are so low paid that sometimes they don't attract experienced applicants. At my last school we took somebody on and put them through relevant courses anyway, although they were not technically an apprentice

 

Absolutely - see this thread : http://www.edugeek.net/forums/general-chat/115972-introduction-little-bit-more-interview-related-content.html @antisanta managed to get an interview without any direct experience - it's all about what you know and how to express that in a CV.

When I started in educational IT I had never done the job and had only been taught the rudiments of computers and networking by mrwITch (I am an electronics tech/eng by trade). The school took me on because I was cheap, I think.

Always worth a go - especially for a junior tech role

[antisanta]

Haha thanks for the mention ^

But yeah, just echoing other people really. Apply for them anyway, the fact you have worked in a school already is a huge plus. As for experience, I get the impression (maybe not in all cases though) that they won't be expecting someone to just walk in and know everything off the bat. They would want someone that will fit in at the school, get along with staff and students as well as the ability to learn and just have something about them. Having technical knowledge is good but that alone wouldn't get you a job I wouldn't have thought, interpersonal skills are high on the priority list too.