Joshua Bennett, a Level 3 Infrastructure Technician Apprentice, shares how his apprenticeship enhances his role as a senior service desk technician, significantly boosting his confidence and skill set. He emphasizes the enjoyable learning experience and practical applications of the knowledge gained, which have allowed him to take on more responsibilities and tackle complex tasks independently. Looking forward, he aims to specialize in cloud infrastructure, encouraging prospective apprentices to pursue IT regardless of their educational background.

1. Joshua Bennett – Level 3 Infrastructure Technician apprentice
“So many of my tasks on the job tie in with what I’m learning in the apprenticeship.”
See how:
• Joshua uses his initiative and ‘drive’ to pick up new skills
• Joshua’s sessions with The ATP are ‘fun’ and provide an understanding
of the tasks he undertakes in his role as a senior service desk
technician
• Joshua is more confident in his role since starting the apprenticeship
just four months ago
Joshua provides advice for prospective apprentices

2. “I’m a senior service desk technician for a consulting
and outsourcing company called Huntswood. We are
the first port of call for all end user problems (about
2000 end users) and are also responsible for deploying
and managing all the end user hardware.
It’s a really varied environment that uses lots of
different technologies, so no day is the same. We close
about 95% of requests and incidents without 2nd and
3rd line support, so it is a service desk that goes beyond
just logging and managing tickets; we’re the main
trouble-shooters for end user issues.”

3. “I have worked in my current role for about a year.
Previously, I worked as an administrator because I had a
background in admin. Then, I got more and more
involved with helping out the service desk and eventually
evolved to become a service desk technician.
There’s a really positive vibe to our workforce; it’s
instilled in all staff to treat people the right way, so you
never get the Monday morning ‘dread’ of work, even
when it’s very busy or if we have some serious
problems to resolve.
The freedom to use your own initiative and drive to pick
up new skills and gain new qualifications has allowed me
to develop and upskill at a faster pace, which is great.”

4. “The lessons with The ATP have been really fun and it’s
great to have a more academic and holistic
understanding of things that I am working on in the job.
There are lots of ‘ahh’ moments in the sessions, where
what we are taught ties in with something I have been
working on in the job.
I come away feeling that I understand, not just what
things do but why they work the way that they do.”

5. “The things I have learnt during the apprenticeship; I
would say it is not brand-new knowledge that I am
putting into practice, but more like the apprenticeship
has given me a better understanding of the things that I
do on a day-to-day basis.
So many of my tasks on the job tie in with what I’m
learning in the apprenticeship – from file permissions to
deploying cloud technologies, to building
virtual machines.
I’m a lot more confident in my job and therefore more
likely to volunteer to get stuck into new things, now that
I feel I’m getting a better grasp of how things work.”

6. “Since the beginning of my apprenticeship, I’m certainly
taking on more responsibilities, I am progressing and
being trusted with more permissions.
For example, I built a whole telephony system for a new
project, whereas when I started in this role I would
probably have needed help from 2nd line support
to do this.
I am also more able to think of solutions to problems
without assistance.”

7. What’s next?
“IT changes so fast that it’s hard to map out a career, but
right now I am really interested in going into cloud
infrastructure; it’s such a rapidly-growing field and is pretty
much taking over all aspects of IT, so it would be a great
challenge to work my way into this area. I know there is a lot
of leg work to do before I get to that stage though.
To prospective apprentices I would say don’t worry if you
don’t come from a background in IT, A Levels and GCSEs; I
didn’t have any IT qualifications before I started. If you are
willing to learn and are enthusiastic in your job, an
apprenticeship will be great for you!”