Working full time and earning money while gaining a qualification sounds like a pretty good deal to us here at Verastar. That’s why our IT apprenticeship scheme is now in its third year.
Brought together by our Chief Information Officer, Richard Rudkin, the Verastar IT apprenticeship, partnered with QA Apprenticeships recognises that employment in the IT sector involves a diverse range of functions, tasks and activities that are constantly developing and changing.
We asked our colleague Marcus Mallia, who has been through the apprenticeship process about his experience and why he feels an apprenticeship is a great way to start a significant role in Verastar.
1. What made you choose to do an Apprenticeship at Verastar?
While I was looking for an apprenticeship my cousin recommended me to Verastar. I instantly felt like I would fit into the friendly team at head office, they were really helpful and made me feel at ease about starting something new.
2. What was the best thing about being an Apprentice at Verastar?
The best thing was how welcome Verastar made me feel to the working world. Learning on the job was important, as it made it easier to understand all the opportunities I was shown and I could learn new skills quickly meaning I could successfully pass my apprenticeship.
3. What skills did you learn during your time in the Apprenticeship?
I learnt various skills, ranging from networking to how to interact with different types of end users, which I enjoy.
4. Did you find the modules challenging while holding down a Full time job in the company?
I did find it challenging at the start but due to the support I had from QA and Verastar, it made it a lot easier for me to be able to enjoy both.
5. How long have you been working for Verastar now? And what is your favourite part of your job as IT Service Desk Analyst?
I have been working at Verastar for 1year and 10 months and my favourite part about my role is interacting with end users and our regional offices, also I find that I am still learning new skills that are really valuable, thanks to my team.
6. What would your advice be to other apprentices looking to work for Verastar?
My advice would be go through the QA app as they have been amazing with supporting me though out my apprenticeship. With their help and Verastar’s support it has turned into a job I really enjoy.
We asked Chief Information Officer, Richard Rudkin why Verastar really value apprenticeship schemes,
“At Verastar we really value the benefits of an apprentice scheme. We have a long history of providing employment and nurturing talented young people trying to make their first steps into business. By being a part of the apprenticeship scheme it has allowed us to expand on this success and now enables us to provide more diverse roles across a number of disciplines due to the support from our scheme partner. Now the apprentice not only benefits from Verastar’s years of internal training experience but is complemented with external training and certification, while gaining real life business experience. We will definitely look to do more of this in the future.”
