Apprenticeship Case Study: Morgan Hussey, ICT Helpdesk Technician Apprentice at Integra Schools

Morgan Hussey, ICT Helpdesk Technician Apprentice at Integra Schools

We spoke to Morgan about what day to day life is like as a Level 3 Infrastructure Technician Apprentice with Gloucestershire College working at Integra Schools. If you're thinking about pursuing a career in IT, an apprenticeship is a great route to train and gain hands on experience. Find out more below.

What made you choose to do an apprenticeship? 

Before I started this apprenticeship, I was working in Tesco as it was a job I had for a few years while in post 16 education. After my GCSEs, I took a college course in Level 3 IT which was full time education, rather than an apprenticeship. A year after I finished the course I decided to look for a job in IT. Apprenticeships appealed to me as it is a very good way to gain experience in a new field of work while learning about more things to do with my role.

Tell us a bit about your day to day job role as an apprentice.

I am a First Line Helpdesk Technician, where my main role is to be the first contact in supporting our customers. What I actually do varies quite a lot from day to day, the main thing I deal with though is password resets for user accounts and emails. Other things I commonly deal with include issues with interactive whiteboards, printing issues, issues with VPNs when connecting from home, physical problems with laptops and desktops. I also will be tasked with going out to sites we support and sorting issues that cannot be sorted remotely from time to time.

For study hours, I was granted 5 hours a week of study time which would usually take place on 2 separate afternoons during. This worked really well as it meant I could have 2.5 hours at a time where I could just get my head down and work on what I needed to with no distractions from work.

Being on an apprenticeship has helped be greatly with getting experience in a first line role. Being able to implement a vast majority of everything I have learned at college to my role has been extremely helpful and I have learnt some things that apply to a higher up job which may come in handy in the future, should I manage to successfully get into those positions.

What key skills have you learnt through your apprenticeship?

A major skill I feel I have learnt and constantly improve on is communication with customers, whether it is over the phone, emails or through instant chat.

Another skill I have picked up during my apprenticeship is how to properly diagnose more intricate problems that users may have. This has been taught to me both by experience of shadowing colleagues and from the modules we were taught while in college.

Have you felt supported throughout your apprenticeship?

There have been multiple ways that both my line manager and trainer/tutor have assisted me throughout my apprenticeship. From consistently checking if I need assistance with anything, being very flexible around my study time and providing me with time away from my role to shadow other colleagues in their role to find out what they do which also provided me with tips I can apply to my own work. My team have been extremely supportive in being flexible around my study time and being able to provide me the time I require each week.

Have you been working remotely due to Covid this year? Have you managed to still progress with your apprenticeship?

I have been working remotely due to Covid. At the start, it was a bit of a shock and took a couple of week to get used to. I haven’t been working from home for the entire time as I was needed some times in the office and for call outs to sites when an on-site technician was needed. Besides the actual working from home part, it hasn’t felt that much different as we always have a Teams chat on the go where we are always talking and helping each other out. It was/is very similar to working in the office just without the face-to-face contact.

What are your career ambitions after you finish your apprenticeship?

I feel like trying to progress into a higher role at Integra is my goal for the next few years. As for specific roles and further down the line, I am unsure currently as there are many routes that can be taken with different responsibilities!

Would you recommend doing an apprenticeship?

I would highly recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who is looking for a first job into any career path, not just IT. The aspect of working and actually doing a full time job while improving your skills and technological experience is a lot better (in my opinion) than just learning through theory work and never putting it straight into practice. Plus, you get paid for it when compared to doing a standard college course!

Recruit an apprentice for your business

We have talented, prospective apprentices apply to us all year round. Our Business Hub team can help your organisation to recruit an apprentice and match you with new talent to grow your business. Apprenticeships are also ideal for training and upskilling your current employees, providing invaluable career progression routes and new skills for your business. Explore our range of IT and Cyber apprenticeship programmes and contact our team via: business.hub@gloscol.ac.uk or call: 01452 563400 for more information. 

Apply to become an IT or Cyber apprentice with Gloucestershire College

Open to anyone aged 16 or above, apply for your chosen apprenticeship programme through our website and we can help you find a local employer who is looking to recruit new talent. If you are already employed, you can use the apprenticeship scheme to upskill and gain qualifications to boost your career. Explore our programmes and get in touch with our Business Hub team to get started.