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Career opportunities with BT

Adam Oliver, head of corporate social responsibility and the age & disability research programme at BT, talks about the opportunities that 16 to 23 year olds can have within this global provider of communications services.

If you are a 16-23 year old you might want to enter a reputable profession early rather than going down the conventional route of studying for your A-Levels followed by a degree. It might be the case that you would still like to gain professional qualifications, but you would actually like to learn first hand from real-world experiences. If this sounds of interest perhaps then the world of apprentice schemes is the right path for you.

There are over 180 apprenticeship schemes nationwide, funded by the Learning and Skills Council in England, with SEEL (Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian) and WAG (Wales Assemble Government) for Scotland and Wales respectively. These schemes cover more than 80 industry sectors such as accounting, rail transport and engineering. Behind Ford, BT is the second largest employer of apprentices in the UK, bringing in around 200 Apprentices across the business this year and aiming for 600 new apprentices over the coming year. The company has been involved in the scheme since 1997 in its current format. Lead by Dave Walsh within BT Openreach and Jerry Comber within the Global part of BT, the BT Apprenticeship scheme is a bridge between the world of education and the world of work; it provides successful applicants with the opportunity to train while on the job, get a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ at Level 2 or Level 3), earn a wage and work towards a career. Ultimately, the scheme offers a wealth of opportunities for intelligent and driven people that might not have the opportunity elsewhere.  Indeed it is seen by many people as the ability to 'earn while you learn'.

BT also offered Higher Apprenticeships in 2006, the first major employer to undertake this option, which provides new employees with the opportunity to work towards a foundation degree in ICT from their first day of employment.

The ICT Higher Apprenticeship is an innovative new approach to developing the degree level skills required to start a career in the IT industry, providing new employees with a self-earning alternative route to Higher Education.  Fundamentally, a Higher Apprentice could gain a foundation degree with 2 to 2.5 years of employment and part-time study, and an honours degree with a further year's commitment.
 
To-date 50 per cent of our BT Global Services apprentices have been promoted to higher grades including senior management positions.

Commitment for talent

At BT, apprentices are given the opportunity to learn on the job, directly from BT's world-leading and highly-skilled engineers. In turn, BT benefits from an injection of refreshing ideas and thinking from talented but youthful individuals who are determined to have a successful career within the field of engineering. BT's recruitment strategy has always been about recruiting the best talent for an industry that is highly competitive. The company's appropriately-named strategy, the 'talent acquisition scheme', is a three-tiered approach, graduate and post-graduate recruitment and, last but not least, its apprentice scheme. BT opts for all of these different routes to make sure that no talent is missed. In fact, the apprentice scheme has proven the best value for money of all of our recruitment schemes because it has the highest retention rate.

Awareness

To drive awareness of the apprentices scheme, BT has made huge efforts to make sure that the budding talent can gain great visibility of the scheme; the company has done this through advertising, school and college visits, attending education fairs as well as through the company's strong and long-lasting relationship with Connexions, the Government's advisory service for young people. Interested young apprentice candidates can therefore be armed with the tools they need to apply for a position on the scheme. The application process couldn't be simpler; any applicant (from up and down the country and from any ethnic community) is expected to fill out a comprehensive but easy-to-complete application form which includes a small section for an essay to be written on why they want to become an apprentice, this is then followed closely by a series of interviews to gauge whether the person is suitable for the programme. Once the applicant is successful they will be inducted into the three year programme and a wealth of great opportunities exists from day one.

Support

The aim for each apprentice is to become part of the next generation of engineers at BT. In order for this to happen BT has insured that there is a great mentoring system in place. This guidance is vitally important as each person is youthful and is often unsure about which career path is right for them. The support mechanism is well established and engrained within BT, with huge amounts of help coming from qualified engineers, other staff and older apprentices helping each person to decide which direction to take. There are many different avenues within BT for people to go down, in engineering and beyond. One example, Thomas King, spent time with Adam Oliver in the Research and Venturing headquarters at Adastral Park near Ipswich, where he was working on a project developing a digitally amplified phone for the hard of hearing - he actually had the project named after him to award him for his hard work! Another such example is Ben Taylor, an apprentice who has yet to decide on the avenue he wishes to take. Ben is currently looking at two different fields, Corporate Social Responsibly and product design, and the BT support mechanism is helping him to decide what best suits his needs. To sum up, no two apprentices or engineering careers are alike -the wealth of different opportunities and BT's support system makes the company very appealing for today's driven youth. This combination of talent, and mentoring provided by Adam Oliver and other BT managers, enables the apprentices to succeed within a nurtured environment.

A career path to success

The BT apprentice scheme is only the start of what should be a successful career in engineering. Great opportunities for learning and personal development exist throughout the three years of the scheme but it doesn't have to stop there. After the graduation ceremony, further doors open for the graduates of the scheme. While some stay at the company developing their careers, others go to university - part funded by BT - and move into the BT graduate scheme once they've got their degree. Matthew Laccohee-Duffield is one such example; having been a apprentice he is currently studying Electronics at Sheffield University with the agreement that he will return to BT once he has gained his bachelor degree. Through the BT apprentices scheme, opportunities exist for young people to have a prosperous career which will have no pre-defined route. If you want to be a master of your own professional destiny you could do a lot worse than applying for the scheme.   

If you are a 16-23 year old you might want to enter a reputable profession early rather than going down the conventional route of studying for your A-Levels followed by a degree. It might be the case that you would still like to gain professional qualifications, but you would actually like to learn first hand from real-world experiences. If this sounds of interest perhaps then the world of apprentice schemes is the right path for you.