Rhys Sheridan is approaching the end of his apprenticeship with Ideal, aged 34. He says apprenticeships are for everyone.
Meet Rhys – our Cisco-sponsored IT Degree Apprentice
Rhys was pursuing a career in marine engineering, working in boat repairs when he decided that his future might lie elsewhere. A random search of Indeed led him to a Cisco-sponsored IT Degree Apprenticeship opportunity here at Ideal, which he’s nearly completed.
Rhys chose to focus on Networking as his core expertise, but he says that working in a smaller, agile company like Ideal means that his knowledge and experience have quickly spread to other areas including cyber security.
“I’m working in Managed Services, which is brilliant because you never quite know what’s next. There are regular tasks like network updates and software patches which can be scheduled, but a lot of the job is about responding to problems as they arise.
“My favourite tasks are things like trouble-shooting complicated network problems, investigating critical vulnerabilities and getting under the hood of firewalls.”
A steep learning curve
“I’m not going to lie; it was a really steep learning curve.
“As well as the technology, I had to get to grips with the jargon, how the industry works and what’s important to each individual customer. On top of that I had a day a week studying on a course run by Roehampton University. Just the discipline of studying was hard to start with.”
Once he’d settled in, Rhys began to really enjoy the process of learning new skills: “Obviously the drive is for technology skills, which I found I really loved. My favourite tasks are things like trouble-shooting complicated network problems, investigating critical vulnerabilities and getting under the hood of firewalls.”
“You’re also learning a whole set of soft skills, like managing workloads and working in a team. Some of those took a bit longer to bed in, but everyone at Ideal was super-supportive.”
What three things would he tell anyone considering a Degree Apprenticeship?
1. Age doesn’t matter: “People usually think of apprenticeships for where you can’t see a way forward, it’s a great way to refocus. You also bring a lot of life experience, which I suspect helps to open up opportunities quicker.”
2. Be patient. “In the end, this is your opportunity and the only person you really answer to is yourself. It can be hard at first, but if you do it at your own pace, take stock, and build a basic understanding, it will all come together in the end.”
3. Don’t silo what you learn. “Again, it may be the advantage of working in an agile company like Ideal, but my skillset has constantly grown. I think that’s a great benefit to me and the company.”
What’s next?
Rhys will officially graduate in June this year, at which point he’ll have a review with Ideal to consider the future. “We’re always having discussions, so it’s great to know that there is a clear path for me to progress here.
“The point of the apprenticeship though, is that I will have a piece of paper backed by solid experience that shows I can make a real contribution in this industry.
“With AI and tech applications growing in every walk of life, that puts me worlds away from the dead-end I felt I was facing in marine engineering.”
