Cybersecurity Project Manager Review

I am a Project Manager specialising in cybersecurity where I have an instrumental role within IBM’s future strategy as the technical projects that I manages monitor the critical national infrastructure for the UK, helping to secure large organisations and individuals from advancing cyber threats. In addition, I ensure that I deliver a positive experience for my clients as they journey towards the highest possible returns on their investment in a secure environment, often creating further opportunities to work with clients outside of my project work.

I utilise the skills and frameworks that I learn at University within my daily team meetings and ad-hoc issue resolution calls where I ensure my team are working in cohesion and with the support of one another. In addition to my ‘day role’, I co-lead and provide direction to IBM’s Apprentice Community, with the aim of bringing life to the work-life balance for all apprentices. This takes the form of social events, supporting the transition of young people into the world of work, and career progression guidance from graduated apprentices and career coaches within the main business. The community also plans and executes IBM’s National Apprenticeship Week initiatives, which support external stakeholders too such as prospective apprentices, their families, and current apprentice stakeholders from across industry.

I have learned to articulate links between my responsibilities and frequently utilise these crossovers with my university projects, by finding relevant research models to expand the success of my efforts. I have recently explored how different types of leadership affect the cybersecurity culture within organisations and discovered that the most secure organisations have employees who have the mental resiliency to report vulnerabilities - Something which I now share with my clients, fellow apprentices, as well as the mental health community to encourage everyone to feel confident in reporting concerns, to protect all. This all provides value to my work and increases the enjoyment I feel through my role.

I am provided with continuous support to m 20% off the job requirement as my project team facilities this time away from work whilst ensuring I have my projects appropriately covered to support my studies whilst I'm away. This best takes form with release every Friday, although the University of Kent could do better with the structure on the day which often doesn't meet the extremely high quality of IBM.

The support feels truly endless, I'm pretty sure I could ask for anything, and we have the mutual respect for one another, that this would be honoured. IBM's Foundation team is entirely dedicated to early professional progression and my manager is entirely dedicated to me, I couldn't ask for more!

The support from the University of Kent is extremely mixed and the working environment is often polluted with challenging issues from Kent staff and academics. IBM do their very best to assist all apprentices at Kent and coaching Kent through their challenges and progress is being made, its just very slow.

In addition to my Bachelor of Science Degree, I will be awarded recognition from the Chartered Management Institute which will bolster my ‘day role’ as a project manager with expertise within the cybersecurity space. Moreover, I am heavily involved in numerous voluntary roles that ‘give back’ to my colleagues and external partners such as: co-leading IBM’s Apprentice Community, supporting mental wellbeing groups and driving change within the counter terrorism education sector.

In addition to my ‘day role’, I co-lead and provide direction to IBM’s Apprentice Community, with the aim of bringing life to the work-life balance for all apprentices. This takes the form of social events, supporting the transition of young people into the world of work, and career progression guidance from graduated apprentices and career coaches within the main business. The events include open public sessions that are streamed to mass audiences and include visits from the likes of the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills: Alex Burghart MP, who was asked to deliver his views on the importance of apprenticeships in the evolving world of work, in close ties with the National Apprenticeship Week agenda (Build the Future), to attract new communities into the folds of IBM and the Apprentice Community. Burghart chose to acknowledge IBM’s frontrunning successes: “I do want to congratulate IBM on being outstanding and I would, of course, expect nothing less of IBM being outstanding”.

Yes

The opportunities are vast within IBM, I have the flexibility and freedom to create my own career path and IBM support me in doing so - its my role, my apprenticeship, my career and I can ask for anything from IBM in support of this - I love working here because of this

I would absolutely suggest that any prospective apprentices keep an eye on IBM social accounts (LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok) as well as register their intertest on our IBM Apprenticeships Website (https://www.ibm.com/uk-en/employment/entrylevel/#Apprenticeships) to be the first to hear about events. There is a real focus in 2023 to provide guidance and support for how to apply to IBM Technical Apprenticeships and what life is really like within IBM as an apprentice