King’s is committed to serving society and a key part of delivering on this commitment is to widen access to opportunities for people from all backgrounds through apprenticeships in order to support them in developing their skills, gaining vital experience and opening up exciting career paths.
This year’s theme is ‘Build the Future’, so we’ll also be exploring the Service Centre’s commitment to Cornwall. Since opening in 2015, it has consistently recruited from the local area, championed staff development and delivered graduate and apprenticeship opportunities.
This investment in the next generation has ensured the Service Centre is never short of excellent talent. Twenty-five apprentices have passed through its doors, with over half staying on and continuing their careers with King’s.
The Analysts work as a team to update users on any potential changes or problems that may occur and deal with any other problems that come through. The role involves a lot of one-to-one time with users, their accounts, and devices to give initial troubleshooting and advice as required, helping the technical aspects of the university to run as smoothly as possible.
I am the kind of person that enjoys learning and taking on new challenges. Previous studies have been more related to creative tech, though looking into apprenticeships I found that IT both applied to my interest in tech and the opportunity for continued learning. I realised that I would be able to learn new things and challenge myself everyday whilst earning useful qualifications that I could take with me anywhere and I could also contribute the customer service skills I already have from previous roles.
A standard day on the desk would entail taking calls, managing the tickets that come in and monitoring different reports that the desk maintains. The calls give us a chance to talk to someone directly and even remote on to their device and have an in-depth yet remote look at what we can do regarding the issue. The emails allow us to identify frequency of issues so that we can keep track of any changes and also allow us to effectively communicate problem escalation with other teams within IT. The reporting allows us to keep an eye on any possible high priority issues to be able to action them before anyone in the university is directly affected.
I have so much more applicable knowledge than I had before I started at King’s Service Centre and have a sense of accomplishment every time I am able to resolve someone’s issue myself successfully. The team is the most helpful I have ever worked with as no matter what time or day you are working they will offer advice or even just act as a sounding board while you are trying to establish solutions for a problem. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at King’s Service Centre and always look forward to what I will be learning that day when I start my shift.
I feel IT is essential to any business or organisation and will be for a long time. To have the opportunity to work such an involved role and learn at the same time is an advantage for any kind of job. I especially like IT as it is constantly changing as it develops. I hope to travel and live in different places in the future, this apprenticeship feels like the start of a career I can really take with me and adapt and still be able to learn and challenge myself every day in the process.
