This year, National Apprenticeship Week runs from 14th-18th March. The week is co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service and is designed
to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals,
businesses and the wider economy.
To mark the week, I caught up with our apprentice Alex Munden who joined the
team as an apprentice in August 2015.
How did you
find out about your apprenticeship?
I had been browsing various
different apprenticeship’s with various different qualifications and job roles
within the IT Technician/Engineer sector on the website http://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/. When I found this
apprenticeship it sounded perfect, so I researched the company, applied for the
job, got an interview and here I am today, working as a proud member of the
Display Solutions team.
What is your role at Display Solutions?
Currently my job role
within Display Solutions is quite broad, my job title is Junior Technical
Support Assistant. This covers technical / internal sales support, goods in
quality inspection, handling customers and suppliers within the RMA procedure
and customer project assembly. I also assist on projects with the sales
department when needed. All of this is helping me strive to accomplish my IT
Professional Competence Level 3 qualification but also allowing me to become a
more rounded employee of the company.
What have you
learned so far?
During the last 7 months at
Display Solutions I have been given the resources and the opportunities to
expand my technical knowledge greatly. I have seized this opportunity and
expanded not only my technical knowledge of computer hardware but also my
understanding of different areas of the business such as marketing, sales and
accounting.
What does
your role involve day to day?
My day to day role involves
liaising with suppliers and updating customers on the progress of on-going
RMA’s. Within this I have to used my technical understanding of products and
communication skills to effectively communicate with both and reach an
acceptable outcome while also achieving that in an efficient time period.
Recently I have been taking on more responsibility including checking goods
before they are shipped and assisting with the processing of sales.
What’s been
your favourite moment of your apprenticeship so far?
By far the best part of my
apprenticeship so far happened around a month ago at the start of February. My
manager, Brendan O’Reilly, and I went to go visit one of our customers that use
our displays and embedded systems to create information kiosks such as the ones
you see in train stations to buy tickets from. My previous job involved a lot
of face to face customer interaction which, over time, I have grown to miss
somewhat. Not only was it enjoyable to experience face to face customer
interaction again but also to see what our products are being used for and the
kind of project we are helping to fuel.
What do you
want to do after your apprenticeship?
After I have finished my
apprenticeship I would like to stay on at Display Solutions and partake in some
form of Engineering course that would better my technical knowledge. I would
also like to progress more into the sales side of the company once I feel my
technical knowledge of the products is sound enough to do so. This could also
be benefited by some form of commercial course I could partake in. All in all,
I see myself developing a good standing career at Display Solutions.
The key themes for National Apprenticeship Week
2016 are: “An apprenticeship can take you anywhere”, with a particular
focus on higher skills to show how young people, entrepreneurs and
businesses can “rise to the top” through traineeships and
apprenticeships. To find out more about National Apprenticeship Week, visit: /national-apprenticeship-week-2016
