Job profile: IT & Telecoms Apprentice

What’s it like to work at Beaming, and what does an apprentice do day to day? No two days are the same and we have lots of different job roles filled by all kinds of people, so we’ve grilled some of the team to find out what their day-to-day work entails and how they came to work here. We’re kicking off with a chat with one of our IT & Telecoms apprentices.

What is your job title?

IT & Telecoms Apprentice.

What does a typical day involve (if there is such a thing)?

First thing in the morning there are a lot of emails to prioritise, so this will be done first. Then if any new emails or phone calls come in I will answer them and help the end user to the best of my ability (if I need some help with any particular issue I have some very experienced colleagues who are more than happy to assist). This will include making tickets of the issues that come in so that if the same person were to call back later there would be a record of what was done. Tasks range from resetting passwords to fixing complex database issues or repairing broken laptops. I can never guess what is going to happen which makes it a whole lot more interesting.

I wasn’t chucked right into the deep end when I started. I was supplied with guidance and support from the team for the first couple of weeks until I was comfortable to start being more independent

When I have an empty email inbox and a quiet phone, I spend my spare time gaining further knowledge in networking and communications. Working at an ISP requires specialist knowledge to understand how the infrastructure works, which means we need an extensive knowledge of networking vendors such as Cisco, Netgear, Splicecom and others.

What experience did you have prior to taking on the role?

I did not have any formal experience in the workplace prior to taking on this role but I did have practical experience in helping out friends and relatives with their IT issues. I also previously undertook 3 years of college education in IT before applying for this role.

What skills do you have that help you in your work?

Problem solving (which is of course essential to IT support) – this helps greatly when dealing with customers remotely as you can try and resolve the issue as quickly as possible so they can resume their work.

Customer relations –I can make good relationships with customers. When you resolve the issues they have you start to build a good rapport and therefore in the future if they have a question or problem you can use that relationship to help come to a satisfactory resolution.

Technically minded – this helps a lot when I am talking through how to resolve an issue with an end user.  I can talk them through it simply and without causing confusion due to the technical language.

What’s your favourite part of the job?

My favourite part of the job would be being able to help people when they call in with their IT issues, as once you manage to resolve the issue the customers are usually very grateful.

I also enjoy going out onsite to visit the customer premises and seeing their individual IT setups, giving assistance where needed. This can include basic IT support or providing network access.