IT Solutions Technician Apprentice

Swindon Academy are now working in partnership with New College Swindon and looking for a proactive and hard-working individual who is looking to learn whilst working to complete IT Solutions Technician Level 3 Apprenticeship.

The Role

We are inviting applications for the role of IT Solutions Technician Level 3 Apprentice. This is an entry level position to undertake duties across the complete IT solution by acting consistently and effectively in a way that supports the ethos of Swindon Academy and the wellbeing of yourself, the pupils and other staff while engaging with your apprenticeship.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an individual who has a keen interest in ICT and the latest and upcoming technologies, as well as a passion to supporting others. You should also have a willingness to learn and develop. You will have opportunities to have on the job training, and will be working with highly skilled practitioners, who can help you further develop your career in ICT.

What will the apprentice be doing?

You will assist within the IT Team to support delivery and effective deployment of the ICT system, including maintenance and support of ICT networks and associated technologies, ensuring that they support curriculum and administrative systems and the long term vision to raise educational standards.

Key responsibilities will include:

• assist the Network Team in the installation of computer equipment, maintaining equipment and making sure that all equipment is set up ready for use
• manage the Helpdesk, adding and updating support calls, discriminating between incidents and problems, interpreting detailed diagnostic information
• provide the Network Team with reports from the Helpdesk support log to provide management information on the volume and nature of requests
• maintain a register of all software licences held
• manage the deployment of software and updates, providing management information on utilisation, licencing, costs and performance metrics to the Network Team
• assist the Network Team in specifying, installing and testing new software, making it available to staff and students
• Be familiar with the server and network infrastructure in order to install and set configuration options for equipment such as switches and routers and perform diagnostic and recovery routines on network equipment
• Troubleshoot perceived problems with the systems and take appropriate action to escalate or remedy the fault

What training will the apprentice take and what qualification will the apprentice get at the end?

All apprentices take a common core and then choose one of two options

• IT Hardware Solutions Technician
• IT Software Solutions Technician

How is it delivered?

• Weekly ‘day release’ for 28 weeks to cover mandatory units – term time only (Includes 5 weeks of revision sessions)
• Weekly ‘day release’ for Hardware or Software pathways – 7 weeks for software, 8 weeks for hardware. Apprentices will have the option to attend all sessions or just those for their chosen pathway.

What is the expected career progression after this apprenticeship?

Possible IT Assistant role if there is a vacant position at the end of the apprenticeship

Desired skills and personal qualities

• Excellent customer service skills
• Willingness to learn new skills
• Basic hands-on experience in resolving technical issues
• A general interest/hands-on experience with music, audio-visual, stage equipment and lighting preferred
• Knowledge and experience of working with Office 365 applications, mobile device management, iOS, Android, IP telephony, and basic networking
• Ability to problem solve
• Ability to articulate and document resolutions
• Must be a patient listener and well averse in re-assuring customers during challenging times

Qualifications

• 5 GCSEs at grade 4 or above - including English and Maths or Functional skills at level 2 or achieve a level 2 in a diagnostic maths and English assessment.
• If you only have a diagnostic result at level 2, you will be required to take the functional skills exams in Maths and English and pass these prior to undertaking your end point assessment

Remuneration packages and perks

At United Learning we are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued and appreciated. Because we are a group, we can reward you better than any school could alone, and this includes your employee benefits. We have several core benefits which include competitive rates of pay when compared to the maintained sector; access to the local government defined benefit pension scheme relevant to your role, enhanced parental leave policies to support parents and carers; and tailored Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

We’ve partnered with Perkbox to offer every United Learning employee over 250 exclusive benefits, all through an easy-to-access platform and app. featuring a range of perks including free access to online wellness and workout classes, money off your weekly shop, high street purchases, and meals out.

Why choose us

At Swindon Academy, we pride ourselves on a team of staff who are supportive, friendly and dedicated to providing the very best teaching and learning for our students. Staff across the academy set a culture of high expectations and continuous improvement for students which, in turn, is reflected in the emphasis we place on continuing professional development (CPD) for our staff.

We have made significant, sustained progress at GCSE and are proud to be the top performing school in Swindon for progress over the last six years.

After a visit from Ofsted in June 2022, the academy continues to be a ‘Good’ school in all aspects of the inspection framework. Inspectors who visited the school noted that, “Warm, caring relationships are at the heart of the way that staff work with pupils.”