Gary Swanwick of Epoq IT was keen to learn more about taking on an apprentice and attended a Buckinghamshire Talent Tuesday event to gather more information and assess people who were looking to undertake an apprenticeship.

“Finding talented people is very challenging,” said Gary. “Taking on an apprentice allows us to work with and develop someone from scratch and teach them everything about our business.

“That said, before I arrived at Talent Tuesday, I wasn’t sure I would be taking anyone on from the event. I was open minded though. I started in IT as an apprentice so I know it’s a proven route into such a career.”

Praise for apprentice's "great attitude"

Gary met and spoke with several people at the event and was particularly impressed by one young woman, Bethany Howard: “Bethany stood out as having a great attitude and a mature head on her shoulders. Straight away I thought she could fit into our team and have a great career in IT.”

This turned out to be prophetic, as Gary offered Bethany an apprenticeship position and she quickly settled in and became a valuable team member. “I’ve had excellent feedback from her colleagues and line manager,” Gary confirms. “Bethany has fitted in nicely with the rest of the team and has provided true value and assistance to her new colleagues.”

Talent Tuesday "a very informative event"

With the next Talent Tuesday event approaching on March 27th, Gary is very positive about the event he attended and the Talent Tuesday philosophy in general: “It was a very informative event. It was useful to meet people who genuinely wanted to become apprentices, to speak to their families about their ambitions, and to hear from real-life case studies of apprenticeships that have succeeded.”

Taking on an apprentice is not without its challenges, but Gary was clear as to what Epoq IT needed to do: “We needed to be at a point where we could allocate time to support and develop an apprentice. There’s also the challenge of finding the best apprenticeship provider to go through, and this is another thing that the Talent Tuesday event helped us with.”

With the new apprentice on board and proving a hit, Epoq IT are heading into an exciting period. “We have worked hard in the past year to lay our foundations for the future," says Gary. "Changes in regulations and legislation, such as GDPR, mean that our services are in demand.”

Find out more about hiring an apprentice

If you'd like to find out more about hiring an apprentice, contact our business support team: 01494 927130 / BusinessSupport@bbf.uk.com.