Andrew, Technology Apprentice

From policing to a Higher Technology Apprentice at Barclays, Andrew made a career change that allowed him to study for a degree and gain industry experience. 

This ticked all the boxes I was looking for - studying towards a degree qualification, getting practical industry experience at work, and earning a wage at the same time!

After five years working in community and response policing, I decided to pursue a career change into technology. I initially considered taking a few years out to do the ‘traditional’ route and study at University however that changed when I discovered the Higher Technology Apprenticeship. This ticked all the boxes I was looking for - studying towards a degree qualification, getting practical industry experience at work, and earning a wage at the same time!

I had a misconception that apprenticeships were only for young people leaving school. That is definitely not the case.

At Barclays I’m working as a software developer in the Data Processing and Orchestration team. My day-to-day tasks often include writing Java code, automated tests and working with cloud technologies. At the University of Glasgow, I’m studying towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Software Engineering.

I think this combination of study and work represents the best of both worlds - getting a good foundation in computer science and software engineering theory at university, then putting that into practice in the workplace. A real highlight for me in the work-based learning approach comes from the workplace assessments. These university courses involve building up a portfolio of work as a developer and writing reports to critique your work against best practices and topics taught in class.

I had a misconception that apprenticeships were only for young people leaving school. That is definitely not the case. There is a diverse group at different life stages in my cohort - from people that have just left school, to college and university grads and more experienced career switchers.

Don't underestimate the transferable skills you've already developed in other jobs when you apply.

If you are considering a career change don’t underestimate the transferrable skills you’ve already developed in different jobs when you apply. I brought over experience and skills in communication, report writing, managing workloads and collaborating with different stakeholders. This has allowed me to really focus on improving my technical knowledge of coding and software development. There is also a great support network throughout the apprenticeship - from career coaches, team mentors, university advisors and other apprentices too.

I regularly see questions asked on forums and social media platforms about ways to break into a tech career. The usual responses list undergraduate degrees, conversion postgrads and coding bootcamps as options to choose from, with varying ranges of cost and time commitments involved. Although these are all tried and tested methods, I’d strongly recommend apprenticeships as an alternative choice for getting a career in tech, and see them becoming a much more popular route in the years to come.