Not sure that University is right for you? Thomas Rixon, a Level 3 IT Apprentice from Oxford started his Apprenticeship after looking at alternative ways to pursue a career within IT. After meeting the team at the 3aaa Oxford Academy and discussing his options, Thomas never looked back…

“When I started at 3aaa and Olamalu, I didn’t know what to expect with regards to what I would be doing on a day to day basis or what everyone would be like. After being here for 3 months I know I have made the right choice and I am really enjoying it. I left school half way through sixth form as I didn’t want to go to university and wanted to work in IT.

So an Apprenticeship seemed the way to go. So far on this Apprenticeship I have learnt some great things. The 3aaa Oxford Academy have taught me a lot more than what I would have learnt at school. They have taught me some basic skills such as taking a computer apart and putting it back together again and running a basic server. They have also taught me some things I had never really heard of before like SLA’s and scopes on DHCP servers. Doing an Apprenticeship gives you more freedom than school and gets you ready for working in the IT industry.

I had been interested in web design and development for a while but didn’t really understand how the whole process worked. Since starting with Olamalu I now know how it all works and each step that goes into designing and developing a website. For someone who didn’t know as much as they wanted, the company have been kind in helping me with this and helped me develop my skills. They have taught me things I always thought about but never understood like how layouts of websites work and the styling that goes along with websites.

One of the things that is best about this Apprenticeship is that when you are working on a website, you know that people are going to see what you have done and it should help them. Along with this I am now getting better at CSS and starting to learn the basics of JavaScript, which I am really enjoying and have always wanted to do. Everyone at Olamalu has helped me a lot with this and I thank them for that.

If someone wants to work with websites, or IT in general, I would recommend they take this Apprenticeship as it will help them learn things that they need to know and help them start their career. I have received a great deal of support every step of the way, which makes an Apprenticeship a great thing to do.”

Carly Pollard, Apprentice Intake Executive at the 3aaa Birmingham Academy:

Connor O’Driscoll is one of our newly employed Apprentices at the 3aaa Birmingham Academy. However, his story is not your average applicant to Apprentice journey!

Through a partnership I set up at a Sandwell Connexions careers fair in West Bromwich Town Hall at the start of this year, I received a referral from Seetec a few months ago – Connor O’Driscoll. At first it seemed that I would not be able to progress his application as he had already completed some units of our qualification at college. However, his strong enthusiasm and passion for IT was apparent during his telephone interview and so I invited him in for a face-to-face interview. At this stage, it became clear that he was one of a rare breed – a young software developer! As a company we decided he was too good to lose and agreed to begin matching him to Employers.

Before we could begin this process, however, we required a few documents from Connor, such as ID, proof of his National Insurance number and GCSE certificates. This would prove to be a problem as he had left home and lived by a different surname to that on his birth certificate. Connor refused to let anything prevent him from joining our programme though and spent the next few weeks rebuilding his relationship with his mum, chasing his certificates, reordering his National Insurance number and even re-registering his birth under his preferred surname! His commitment to the programme at this stage was already admirable.

Jo Barrett, our Senior Apprenticeship Recruitment Executive at Birmingham, having waited patiently to send Connor’s CV out to companies, arranged two interviews for him. However, after attending the one at Bluetel Solutions and being offered employment with them, he was quick to accept their offer.  Bluetel Solutions is a company that is very particular with their recruitment and only employ those with the highest level of skills and qualities.  Their feedback for Connor was very positive stating that they thought he would fit in with the team well and that they liked his “get-up-and-go” attitude!

When asked how he feels about this opportunity, Connor said “I decided to apply for the Apprenticeship so that I am able to become educated in my chosen field, whilst gaining experience at the same time.  IT is what I have always wanted to do and it really is overwhelming how I have managed to secure my dream job at the age of 17!”

We are all very proud of what Connor has achieved so far and wish him every success with his IT Apprenticeship and beyond!

“Since starting with 3aaa, I’ve found with the help of the team I’ve had a massive confidence boost which was a large barrier for me to overcome. On the whole I’ve found everyday life much more positive. I feel I have been given something to aim for and achieve rather than just taking each day as it comes. I had been unemployed for a quite a while and felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere.

The 3aaa Cambridge Academy have been fantastic helping me in my approach to companies and I quickly noticed a 300% increase in responses from Employers when I began working with the team. They spent time with me and gave me some tips and advice about how to prepare for and handle interviews.

The team were always willing to sit down, guide and talk me through any issues that I had and found ways for me to better myself. They talked to me like a real person and didn’t talk down to me. They constantly made me feel like their top priority.

The Academy is fantastic. They taught me how to approach companies professionally, without it feeling like a tedious endeavour. I am now working as an IT Apprentice for Studio 24 in Cambridge and couldn’t be happier. My friends and family have noticed a great change in me and have commented on how much happier I am. I am grateful for this fantastic opportunity and intend to stay on after my Level 3 apprenticeship and progress to Level 4!”