King’s Service Centre is dedicated to bringing top quality Apprenticeships to Cornwall and the SITS Apprenticeship is a new nationwide initiative pioneered by Nick Leake, King’s CIO. The Apprenticeship which is also being run at many other high profile universities and the Service Centre has been working closely with Cornwall College and Tribal Group to deliver the Apprenticeship here in Cornwall. We asked Nick to explain the need for the Apprenticeship and how it will help shape the future…

“There is a serious national and international shortage of trained Tribal SITS IT Professionals. I went to the SITS 2016 conference in Wales to present with Cornwall College the necessity and way in which the Apprenticeship will operate. Over 20 universities and other Higher Education Institutes have expressed interest in recruiting around 30 Apprentices. This means that we could have 2 intakes a year. I believe that there is a demand for up to three or four hundred additional SITS professionals in the UK and internationally (Australia, New Zealand, Canada etc).

I met a senior university administrator for New Zealand who said they would be very keen to recruit such qualified apprentices once they had completed the programme. Apprentices are recruited by the employing organisation and the training is delivered by a mixture of residential training delivered by Cornwall College and Tribal, remote learning and on the job training. The scheme will also enable apprentices to build networks across institutions. This is not just an Apprenticeship – this is a passport to a long term career, be that in Cornwall, across the UK or internationally. King’s Service Centre and King’s IT is very much part of the future of the scheme as we continue to offer high quality Apprenticeships and career development to Cornwall. ”

If you know, or someone you know, is interested in applying for the SITS Apprenticeship then put them in touch with Cornwall College for further information, or directly with us.