IT Support Technician Apprentice

Employer description: 

The Company [Blaze Networks] are a security-focused Managed Services Provider and ISP, delivering network communications and IT services to businesses across the UK.
We are fundamentally a customer and service-focused organisation, dedicated to ensuring our customers’ networks and IT systems are highly dependable, secure & cost effective.
We offer our customers complete IT solutions ranging from setting up printers and supporting windows to building corporate networks.

Overview:
The ideal candidate will have a thirst for IT knowledge, have good ideas to contribute towards the company evolutions and have a strong drive to progress within the organisation. 

Salary:

£15,000 per annum. 

The Role:

• Working with a team of technicians whilst working towards our goal of providing excellent and knowledgeable support to our broad spectrum of customers
• Troubleshooting a wide range of IT incidents including network, PC support and printers
• Actioning Service Requests including user creation, machine config and hardware setup

Main responsibilities:

• Politely and professionally answering in bound calls to the service desk.
• Logging tickets to the clearly defined internal standard
• Categorising issues by severity
• Working through your own ticket queue, and organising work based on SLA
• Following internal processes and procedures to deliver the service we promise
• Contribute towards in-house documentation
• Proactively troubleshooting connectivity issues
• Ensuring that customer satisfaction is always upheld
• Following escalation paths

Opportunities are given for clear career progression, the successful candidate will have access to courses allowing a multitude of certifications to be achieved from vendors such as Microsoft, Cisco and Fortinet.

What we are looking for:
Desirable skills:

• Where we do not ask for or expect a full developed knowledge of IT, due to the nature of the position, there are a few prerequisites that we require you to satisfy in order to be considered:
• A basic understanding of using and troubleshooting Microsoft Windows – e.g. Installing software, setting up user accounts, connecting devices to a network, using the inbuilt tools.
• An understanding of how the networks function 
• Experience in resolving IT based issues be it issues with your home internet, personal laptop or installing printers for friends and family.
• Hardware knowledge – you should be able to identify all internal components of a computer or laptops and should be comfortable replacing parts.
• It is imperative that you are comfortable using the Microsoft office suite consisting of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
• An understanding of why security is so important in this sector and some ideas on how to implement it.

Personal qualities:

• Able to work in a high-pressure environment
• Able to stay calm when faced with difficult phone calls
• Be able to work as part of a team as well as alone on tickets and projects
• Have fantastic communication skills, written and verbal
• Able to complete routine and non-routine tasks
• Be able to plan and organize both familiar and new tasks
• Logical, pro-active and have an analytical approach to your work
• Have strong attention to detail

Entry requirements:
The entry requirements for this Azure Cloud Support Specialist programme are as follows: 

• 3 GCSE’s (or equivalent) at grades 4+ (A-C) in any subject
• GCSE Maths and English (or equivalents) at grades 3+ (D or above)
• Prospective apprentices must not hold an existing qualification at the same or higher level as this apprenticeship is in a similar subject

You may also have a combination of qualifications and experience which demonstrate the minimum foundation needed for the programme. In this instance you could still be considered for the programme.

If you hold international equivalents of the above qualifications, at the time of your application you must be able to provide an official document that states how your international qualifications compare to the UK qualifications. 

Find out more here: 
https://www.enic.org.uk/Qualifications/UKQRS/Default.aspx

Working week: 

37.5 hours per week, 
Monday to Friday, 
8am - 6pm. 

Future prospects: 

92% of QA Apprentices secure permanent employment after finishing their apprenticeship. Additionally, there may be opportunities to undertake further apprenticeship training as many of our programs offer on-going development tracks. 

Important Information: 

QA’s apprenticeships are funded by the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), an executive agency of the Department for Education. 
To be eligible for a Government funded apprenticeship you must have lived in the UK or European Economic Area (EEA) for the last 3 consecutive years.