Cyber Security Apprentice Review

My role as a Cyber Security Apprentice is to support the E-infrastructure team within the Cyber Security Department. During my day to day tasks I'm involved with are first line support within the department, data center operations from time to time, asset management, workstation builds and reviewing processed related to my tasks for improvement. In the future when learning allows I have the option to move around to the other teams in the Cyber Security Department.

During my time at JISC I have had the chance to improve my project/events planning skills thanks to the showcase meetings that all the apprentices are involved in organizing. Skills gained during my time here are a practical understanding of project management and service management from the additional training provided to apprentices which included a Level 3 ITIL certification part of training for the Cyber Security department. Technical skills and knowledge is picked up on everyday during work and is complemented by the Degree Apprenticeship program. All employees also have access to LinkedIn Learning which has a large pool of videos to help brush up on information.

My experience with the programme has exceeded all expectations I had regarding starting a full time job and the company culture at JISC. Since starting everyone has been very welcoming and more than happy to help when I have questions. Other aspects of working at JISC are the flexible starting hours and option to work from home if you're in a pinch. JISC have been very accommodating with the apprenticeship programme offering the option of taking a full day to work from home for study or break it up over the week depending on our preference, this study is 20% of our working hours. This flexibility also extends to having the option to travel down the day before to apprentice workshops to avoid the morning rush which is very nice especially if traveling to the workshops in London. Issues that have come up with the programme have been with dealing with QA with regards to confusion caused by our first skills coach which has been rectified.

The structure of the programme is organised with an induction from the training provider towards how the degree side of the apprenticeship and how it works from a high level perspective and then every 6 weeks I have a meeting with my skills coach to catch up. Within JISC my manager and mentor are there to support my studies and help sort out any issues that might come up with work or QA and also to help find the right balance.

The support I receive from my manager, mentor and the rest of my team is very good towards any questions about course material and also my day to day tasks at work where I can ask for help with anything that I get stuck with or am unsure about. The attitude towards supporting me is always friendly and helpful.

The support from my QA towards my qualification is a skills coach who has a 1-1 with every apprentice every 6 weeks to check how we are getting on and if we have any issues at work or with study. My skills coach is accessible by phone during the week if we need to talk urgently or via email as well. Other support we receive is access to online forums with other students and instructors where we can ask for guidance for each module. When we had issues at the start with our first skills coach QA where quick to respond and sort us out with another skills coach who has been very helpful.

The modules vary from technical knowledge about a subject to less technical but all are relevant and applicable to the my work. I have found with the networking modules I was using that information straight away and with my current module about systems development I'm already using the knowledge gained to improve my approach to tasks.

There are lots of events through work we can get involved in and also attend external conferences if they would be beneficial. There are several sport activities to get involved with such as football and rounders on the campus. The campus is well maintained and quiet with several options for getting lunch on site and nice spots for a walk during your lunch break.

Yes

My experience working at JISC has been amazing and I always look forward to coming to work. The degree apprenticeship is very good with the support and knowledge you gain on the academic side and then the on the job experience which is a nice blend. The culture at JISC is very welcoming and in combination with the benefits and flexibility they're a great place to work at.

To make sure you check out the website and read up on the services that JISC offers related to the position you apply for. When I applied for my role at JISC I was invited to an assessment day after sending in my CV. During the assessment day it was non technical and there are other applicants there. The day is based around getting to know you and to meet the applicants. Following up afterwards any successful applicants will come in for an interview which was more related to the job role.