Scottish Apprenticeship Week: Calum’s story
To celebrate Scottish Apprenticeship Week, we wanted to take the opportunity to share some of the stories, thoughts and experiences of our current and former IT Apprentices (as we’re incredibly proud of them!).
Apprentice: Calum Cahill
Contract start: July 2016
Contract end: July 2018
Apprentice Role: Media Services (AV) Technician
In my role I work with a fantastic group of people who I can learn so much from! I also enjoy the fact I can “earn while I learn” because not only am I making money but I am also gaining knowledge and experience in the IT industry, which in the modern world is so valuable! I also like the fact I get to try all different roles within IT services in the university having turns in the PC clinic, on the IT Service Desk in the library and with the Desktop Technicians, learning a variety of skills.
One of the most memorable moments of my apprenticeship was when i worked a Saturday morning at Craigtoun Country Park, where I took some pictures and video clips of a park run and dog cog competition. As well as taking the photos and video clips my colleague and I went on to edit the all our videos and some drone footage taken by an external company, into about 7 short clips and montages. Doing this allowed me to practice using final cut pro and garageband as well as improving camera work. I found this really enjoyable and learned a lot to do with filming and editing.
I feel like I have come so far from when I first started. I feel that I have learned a range of skills from setting up a speaker PA system to striping down a MacBook and cleaning it out. Not only the skills within IT but I have also become a lot more confident in myself and my skills, from getting experience in the workplace and having to deal with panic phone calls with only a 15 minute response time (to diagnose and fix the problem, where possible). Some examples of things I can confidently do now which I couldn’t before is, set up a multi-speaker PA system with multiple wired and radio microphones, strip down a laptop and internally clean it, upgrade my own MacBook and reinstall the OS onto it. The list could go on for pages but these are some examples.
I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship to young people! I know it was the best decision for me as I much prefer hands on learning and on the job experience rather learning from a book or lecture. If an apprenticeship is something you are thinking about it’s definitely worth doing it! I think it’s great that our university offers apprenticeships, as well as the usual university courses.