Northgate Managed Services Launches Second Round of Apprentice Recruitment
26 July 2010
Northgate Managed Services (Northgate) is once again leading the way in employment as it launches the second year of its Apprenticeship Scheme – offering school leavers a direct route to develop a long-term career in ICT. Northgate -which already employs over 600 people throughout Northern Ireland -was one of the first IT companies to recognise the country’s potential talent pool and in 2009 launched an 18 month training scheme, the first of its kind in NI.
The scheme, supported by the Department for Employment and Learning, has been a great success, boasting over a 90% apprentice retention rate. Due to this, Northgate is doubling its intake for this year and will recruit apprentices to work across a variety of roles within all sectors that company works in.
Apprentices can expect to ‘earn as they learn’ while studying for their NVQ level two and three IT Practitioner qualifications. As with every employee in Northgate, the successful candidates will each receive a tailored personal development plan with a mixture of online and classroom training programmes to develop skills essential to their role and personal development. Upon completion of the scheme, there is potential for them to move into permanent positions in Northgate with opportunities to develop their skills within a wide variety of career paths in the company
Commenting on the scheme, Andy Ross, Chief Executive, Northgate Managed Services said:
“We are delighted to be able to continue to invest in this programme, which has been an outright success, with other IT companies looking to follow in our footsteps. The apprentices on the scheme have had a variety of different experiences, from a builder to a chef, but they have very quickly become productive in our organisation due to their existing IT literacy.
“Through our continued work in the education sector, we strive to encourage young people to consider IT as a career. Many are under the illusion that a university degree is the only route available and we want to stress that this is not the case. Our IT Apprenticeship Scheme is an additional option to our existing Graduate schemes, helping us develop a sustainable and valuable workforce that will help us grow our business”
Matthew Lindsay, was one of the first Apprentices to join the scheme, he comments on his experience
“I am delighted that I was given the opportunity to join Northgate’s Apprenticeship Scheme. I have always had an interest in ICT and wanted to pursue a career in this field. In addition to developing my technical skills, I have improved my non technical skills such as customer service and communication. My training programme involves web based courses, onsite and offsite training. I am half way through and I am on schedule to achieve an NVQ IT Practitioners level 3. I have really enjoyed my experience and I look forward to developing my career even further within Northgate”
To apply, candidates must hold a GCSE in Maths and English and most importantly have an interest and passion for ICT.
Click here to apply for Northgate Managed Services' IT Apprenticeship Scheme
Closing Date: Monday 9th August 2010
