Cameron Warwick, from Wootton Bassett has finished his first year as a digital apprentice at a Wiltshire live events company - and he’s keen to explain why working in IT is far from boring. For those who are thinking about taking on a digital apprenticeship, his story shows how much fun it can be.
Cameron is a junior technical engineer at Etherlive, an events technology company that provides technology such as Wi-Fi, telephony, CCTV and live video links at events including music festivals, along with The RHS Chelsea Flower Show and The Royal Windsor Horse Show to name a few.
BCS spent a couple of days filming Cameron at the WOMAD festival for a video promoting apprenticeships and finding out a little bit more about his. His job includes being hoisted up on a cherry picker to position cameras for the CCTV network and being part of the team setting up a video conference link with NASA and CERN from the festival’s Physics Tent.
Watch Cameron in action on the video: A Digital Apprentice at work - at WOMAD
He added: “A lot of people think IT is very office-based and involves sitting at computers, in front of a monitor - that’s definitely not the case. We are constantly out on sites and being hands-on plugging things in - the job is also a combination of the physical and the technical.”
Cameron is currently a level 3 apprentice, and is working towards completing his level 4, where he will gain the equivalent of a certificate of higher education (CertHE).
He explains why he loves his job: “The best bit is going out and about travelling with the company - we go to so many different sites, so many parts of the country - I personally don’t think I would have ever gone to some of them out of choice. It’s generally really friendly and it’s great to meet new people as well’.
Chris Green, the managing director of Etherlive, explained why having an apprentice was a good idea: “Cameron joined us just over a year ago as an apprentice and he has had a rapid learning cycle in terms understanding what we do from a technological point of view, and also understanding how events work.
“He’s been a fantastic apprentice in terms of the rate he has developed and learnt how sites work, how to get stuff done and solving problems - all the typical challenges in the world of work.
“It’s got to the point now that after a year he’s capable of going out and running events on his own and looking after some fairly big sites.”
Annette Allmark, head of apprenticeships at BCS, said: “Digital apprenticeships are proving increasingly popular. Many young people these days are looking to do an apprenticeship as they follow a structured programme of training, can immediately apply their learning in the workplace and earn a wage at the same time. Apprenticeships are a partnership between the apprentice, employer and usually an external training provider such as an independent company, college or university.”
What advice would Cameron give to someone looking for a digital apprenticeship? “My advice would be to get on out there, see what apprenticeships are on offer. The best thing that I’ve taken advantage of, with being a digital apprentice, is both the educational side - I’m being taught many new skills - plus the whole experience of working on the job.”
To find out more about apprenticeships go to www.bcs.org/apprentice.
