#ScotAppWeek18 – Craig Matear – My Apprenticeship Story
When I was at school, like most people, I had no idea what I wanted to do! I applied and gained a conditional place at university to study sports and exercise science, as it came closer to the time to enrol I decided I was going to turn down my place and study graphic design at HNC level as I feared the debt that comes hand in hand with uni. It was around this year that I realised I was good with computers. I was fixing them for the class at college before the IT staff could get to the room (don’t think they liked me doing this!) from this I applied for a 12 month apprenticeship with Waverley Housing, things worked out and I started my role.
My first week working I had to attend a course at a training centre to study networking, this was enjoyable as I was learning with other students but we were also getting paid at the same time so felt nothing like school. Through this year I had to learn very quickly the difference between knowing how to use a personal computer and a business computer, courses and project work helped with this.
I must have made a good impression as I still work here nearly 5 years on and I have been placed on a permanent contract, studied and passed a higher apprenticeship, and I am currently studying with Open University for my BSc (honours) Computing and IT. So, there are lots of options to get to where you want to be
