Technical Consultant Review

My role as a technical consultant is to deliver customer facing projects. Interacting with both the customer and internal teams to define and execute process for business transformation. This often involves cloud migration projects such as migrating on prem email exchange servers to office 365 but can include a wide scope of activites outside of this.

Over the last 3.5 years I have learnt a plethora of skills far exceeding the scope of my degree. These include functional, technical skills that I use everyday, as well as soft skills such as presenting to large groups. This has helped to improve my communication skills. I have also done multiple industry certifications.

I enjoy the apprenticeship a lot. I feel as though I have had some of the benefits of university whilst still working full time, enjoying a salary and not having to pay back any student loan. We still got to have experiences such as a week in the lake district doing team building activities and work sponsored social events.

The programme has largely been structured well. From the employers perspective we were onboarded over a two week period and regularly had events organised to further our learning outside of the degree and improve soft skills. However the leader / organisation of this did change mid apprenticeship. From the education providers perspective, it was less organised. The standard of teaching since the start of the coronavirus pandemic has significantly reduced.

I have received as much or as little support as seen fit. At the beginning there was a lot more "hand holding" especially when joining new projects. I have regular meetings with my manager who can assess my proficiency and ask if I need any more support. As time has progressed I have received less support on projects as I no longer need it. I know if I asked for more support, I would receive it.

This can vary massively depending on the module as generally all modules are delivered by different lecturers. The skills coach is a stable figure through all modules, however they effectively act as a middle man between ourselves and the course leaders. This has proven to provide very little change from out feedback.

I would say that out of the ~15 modules we've done in the last 3 years, maybe 4 of them are directly relevant to my job role. There may be a further 4 - 5 modules that provide some relevance to the role in terms of business analysis that may provide useful in the future. The rest will likely never be used.

There have been in the past but due to covid there has been less in the last 2 years. I believe there is still a 5 a side team and usually there are a few professional networking event spread throughout the year. This would depend on your specific business unit as some may have more than others.

Yes

I feel as though although we were the first intake of apprentices at HPE we did have a good experience. The work has been engaging, I have developed a lot in both my technical knowledge and soft skills / confidence. The education provider HPE decided to use (QA) has been below average at times but I get the impression most are.

I would recommend having a genuine interest or passion in technology if you apply. You will be exposed to a lot of current and emerging technology trends so should maintain a good knowledge of what is current. Prepare for the interview requirements with a presentation etc as you will be asked to and speak confidently.