Terry Smith: IT apprenticeship at San-iT
Now a Managed Services Team Lead, Terry Smith began his career at San-iT as an apprentice.
Tell us a bit about your journey into an IT apprenticeship
Having always wanted to work in the IT sector, I started as an apprentice at San-iT just over 5 years ago. My work background was mostly customer-service=based, first working at Sainsburys for 8 years, where I climbed the ladder to a team leader position, before moving on to Salford City College as an apprentice in the Digital Learning department, and finally moving on to Scan Computers, building and repairing PCs, laptops and servers.
I’d always wanted to pursue a role in IT since being at high school, so when the opportunity came around for me to kick-start my IT career, I decided to apply for the apprenticeship at San-iT. I’d chosen this route as most jobs in the IT sector require experience in dealing with business IT systems, and an apprenticeship allowed me to gain this experience as well as studying for a qualification.
Now I’m a Managed Services Team Lead, a role that I am very passionate about. With this role, I get to lead the excellent team San-iT have created and nurtured, and the rapport the team has together lends itself to the positive experience the customer has with us, as we can bounce off each other and share ideas freely.
Tell us about your highlights/successes so far
I think my biggest highlight is the day I started. San-iT welcomes everyone with open arms and an open-mindedness that I had never experienced in any other job!
Another would be when I started in the Team Lead position, which allowed me to lean on my previous team leading experience and also pick up new skills.
Tell us a bit about your team/colleagues
In my team we have 5 staff members: Brian, Yusra, Lee, Sam and me.
Brian is the other Managed Services Team Lead, whilst Yusra and Lee are the Managed Services Engineers. Sam, Apprentice Managed Service Engineer, is quickly approaching the end of his apprenticeship.
We work extremely well together, and all share responsibility for the team and each other’s success.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of completing an IT apprenticeship?
Do it!
It’s the perfect opportunity to start your career in the IT industry which allows you to gain the relevant experience, as well as gaining a recognised qualification.
If you’re as passionate about IT as I am, then you’ll enjoy every day of it.
Next steps for you.
The next step for me is to move into our Projects and Escalations department, which will allow me to delve deeper into technical side of IT and further my career.
