Ultima Blog

Apprentices Exceed Expectations

Written by Vicky Constantine | 21-Oct-2016 15:11:25

Vicky Constantine has many years of experience growing and developing young professionals into successful sales people, which has been proven by the initial success of our apprentices.

Across the IT industry there is currently a lack of talented young people. Vicky believes that through our apprentice programme, Ultima will be able to help develop new talent into various roles across the organisation. With the support and sponsorship of the directors and owners of Ultima, Vicky has built a robust team who are making a difference to the business, booking appointments for the new business teams, getting training on new technologies and building new pipeline business.

These new employees are young business professionals who are part of the Microsoft Partner Apprenticeships Scheme. The sales apprentices are currently undertaking a 12-month development program, both in the classroom and on the sales floor, to ensure that Ultima has capable solution sales specialists who can generate new business. Vicky believes that Ultima’s success and growth is down to the people working for this ever growing business, and is extremely pleased with the progress and outcome of the apprentices we have employed to date.

Working closely with an external training provider, ITSkillsman, we have created a programme and process that helps develop young individuals, giving them the skills and confidence to meet the needs of our business. This scheme has created a professional development process for young people wanting to broaden their knowledge of this industry.

The weekly training sessions with ITSkillsman allows the apprentices to gain skills which they can use in the workplace. They benefit from the training program by learning job related sales skills, underpinned by Microsoft Office Specialist certifications and Microsoft MTA qualifications. Our apprentices started with little or no sales experience and as the course has progressed, they have become focused IT professionals. Their willingness to learn and improve has been evident throughout, and has helped them carve a career for themselves in the IT industry. Currently, the apprentices have booked over 120 appointments across CSP, SAM, Managed Services and Print Services whilst working with key vendors including Microsoft, HP, Dell and Checkpoint.

The programme currently has 22 apprentices and there are more to come across the coming months. We intake every three months with the programme lasting a total of twelve months. Once the programme is completed, these young individuals are then given the opportunity of a career in various departments across the business.

If you'd like to find out more about our apprentice program, please contact ITSkillsman directly:

Tony.Pitchford@itskillsman.co.uk

M: 07769 212356

T: 023 9244 9730