GetMyFirstJob Ambassador
Hello, I Am Umayr
I chose an apprenticeship as I wanted to involve myself within the Technology industry at the earliest stages of my life to gain hands-on experience with the latest technologies and systems.
Tell us more about your experience
My chosen apprenticeship pathway was Software Engineering. I’m specialised in it at university and worked in different rotations across the SDLC every 9 months during my degree apprenticeship. On a day-to-day basis, I worked on an assigned project with my team. This normally revolved around programming, design, automation, and testing amongst other tasks.
The most exciting project I’ve worked on is when I was given a lead role in automating the process for one of our information systems. This involved using human-centred ways of working to capture the requirements of the system’s users. I was tasked with formulating a solution and presenting a prototype before creating the automation. From this, I was able to program the automation process within Visual Basic and connect the program with a SQL database. This application allowed users to change passwords for multiple databases within the system at once, alongside the password being saved onto a secure database. This project was highly rewarding and exciting because of the problem-solving and creative elements!
“I won the BAME Apprentice of the Year Award 2021 in the Digital and Technology category!”
Amongst many proud moments, I’ve been proud of leading a comms campaign on behalf of the BT Muslim Network as Comms Lead. In November of 2020, I led a company-wide campaign to raise awareness about Islamophobia. This campaign involved organising a ‘knowledge call’, publishing information material, and sharing colleague stories on BT’s intranet page. The campaign reached colleagues across the business and received positive reactions from many. Alongside this, I’ve been so proud to win the BAME Apprentice of the Year Award 2021 for the Digital and Technology category!
I originally decided to do an apprenticeship as I wasn’t keen on taking on a student loan and acquiring debt by going to university. Most importantly, however, I wanted to involve myself within the Technology industry at the earliest stages of my life to gain hands-on experience with the latest technologies and systems. This would give me an advantage and allow me to pursue the highest level I can achieve.
I would highly recommend anyone considering an apprenticeship to go for it! An apprenticeship scheme offers so many benefits that traditional career paths may not, so it would be wise to take that into consideration. Always look out for the support an employer can give, as it plays a huge part in your success on a scheme. I would also suggest reaching out to current or former apprentices on the schemes you’re interested in to gain a better insight into the role and work you might undertake on a particular scheme.
“Reach out to former or current apprentices to get an insight into the role you’re considering.”
While applying for apprenticeships during sixth form, I found that a lot of support offered was centred around the traditional university route. This meant that I had access to little information about apprenticeships and how to successfully secure a role! Due to this, I had to conduct a lot of research into the different apprenticeships and talk to apprentices in different companies to gain some tricks and tips on how to succeed. In the end, I was able to secure three job offers from top employers!
The support that I received from BT during my apprenticeship was immense. From the start, my managers helped in explaining the dynamics and structure of the business and what the role of each team is within the company. This gave me a broader understanding of BT. Alongside this, the dedicated apprentice team within the Technology units offered amazing opportunities to help me excel within my role and engage in extracurricular activities that have bolstered my personal brand.
My university was also extremely supportive when it came to tracking my progress and ensuring that I’m able to complete my assignments. I was assigned a dedicated mentor who checks in with me and my line manager every term to discuss my progress. Additionally, for each module we were given one-to-one sessions by the tutor to ask any questions we had about them. These focussed sessions helped me so much and allowed me to get top marks!
What has your journey looked like post-apprenticeship?
My journey has been amazing post-apprenticeship, I truly realised the opportunity I had as an apprentice and the skills I had developed over the years. Assimilating into a full-time role was near-enough seamless and I was fortunate enough to stay on in the team I was working with during my final rotation – this meant that there were no major changes that I needed to get accustomed to, apart from losing my study day and having to work for an extra 20%!
Have you done any additional qualifications since your apprenticeship ended?
I am currently working towards the Professional Data Engineer certification for GCP (Google Cloud Platform) and have also been accepted on the McKinsey & Co Leadership Essentials programme!
What advice would you give to someone doing an apprenticeship in the same industry as you?
I would advise anyone currently doing an apprenticeship in the technology space to take advantage of your time efficiently. An apprenticeship should be the time where you absorb as much knowledge, information and skills as possible alongside building your network. I highly recommend going above and beyond your training/degree by exploring professional certifications and courses that will elevate your profile and put you in good stead for your career progression beyond your apprenticeship.
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