Andrew's apprenticeship journey
"I did a foundation degree in Forensic Science many years ago but never really thought about formal re-training, even though I wasn’t fully satisfied with my career.
"I was working for Cumbria Police as an ICT Integrations Team Leader. I arrived at a work meeting early one day and someone mentioned the degree apprenticeship opportunity to me. I said yes because I thought it was a chance to learn new things, but I never thought it would change my career like it has.
"I’ve always had an interest in cyber security, and I joined the police to specialise in networks and security. I did that for three years before starting the apprenticeship. I only wish the apprenticeship had existed sooner, as the latest direction of my career – my new role as a Cyber Security Architect with the Police Digital Service - is what I’ve wanted to do for so long.
"I knew that going back into education, aged 32, wasn’t going to be easy, but my employer and University of Gloucestershire supported me to balance my work and study pressures. I live 300 miles from the university campus, and travelled down regularly for five-day blocks of learning.
"And while I was away from work, my managers treated it like I was on leave and gave me time for my studies. My final year was the hardest as I was managing restructures and infrastructure replacement programmes at work, but I felt really supported throughout to succeed in both worlds.
"Although I’ve worked in cyber security for six years, I wanted to move from management and back into a technical role. My apprenticeship has enabled me to do just that. I like the technical side of cyber security because I enjoy designing things from scratch, implementing and testing things, trouble shooting and problem solving. I can’t wait to get more technical in my new job."
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