We are passionate about apprenticeships at Dogsbody Technology.  It is safe to say that without apprenticeships we would not be the company we are today.

This week (6-10 Mar 2017) is National Apprenticeship Week 2017 and it seems only fitting to tell you our story.  To use the relevant hashtag, we are literally #madebyapprentices 🙂

Apprenticeships are NOT about free/cheap labour.

To date we have hired four apprentices, around one a year since 2013.  Jim is still doing his apprenticeship with Alex, Rob & Gary all having completed and moved into full roles in Dogsbody Technology.

Apprenticeships can be a better alternative than university.

Gary was being pushed to go to university but felt it wasn’t a good fit for him.  He stumbled across apprenticeships and found us not long after. He can now be heard saying, “Best Google search I ever made”.  Gary completed his apprenticeship last year and is starting a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) course this year.

Apprenticeships aren’t the end of education.

Rob completed his apprenticeship last year and is now doing an Open University degree in Computer Sciences. When asked Rob said, “Apprenticeships (and Open University) allow me to work at my own pace on the exact subjects that I want to learn”.

University = debt. Apprenticeships = getting paid.

Jim switched from a University degree to our apprenticeship.  Apart from now being a lot happier with the subject Jim is also happier with his bank balance.  Jim no longer needs to choose how he spend his money saying, “I can now afford to visit friends and buy the computers I want”.  (Dogsbody obviously advocates a sensible saving strategy!)

Offering an apprenticeship allows a small company to grow.

We couldn’t have grown Dogsbody Technology without offering apprenticeships.  It really was the perfect match of growing the business and staff simultaneously.  I strongly suggest apprentices to any small business looking to grow.

The National Apprenticeship Service is awesome but if you are a small tech company with apprenticeship specific questions, please feel free to contact us and we’d be happy to share our experiences.

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