FINLEY PICKS WORK EXPERIENCE OVER THE EXPENSE OF A DEGREE TO DRIVE HIS CAREER

Finley Walker is Gloucestershire College’s first level 4 Software Tester apprentice to have graduated with a distinction. He is now working for the global manufacturing company Renishaw.

Finley applied to four universities and had two unconditional offers, but when he looked at the finances and how much work experience he would have achieved at the end of his university years he decided against it.

He applied to do a cyber security apprenticeship at GC (Gloucestershire College).

“The college asked if I wanted to apply for a Software Tester position with Renishaw. I looked at the job description on the company’s website, went for an interview and that is how I ended up being a Software Tester.

“The big thing at Renishaw is that they treat you as a normal employee and expect you to do everything as any other member of staff, which means I was given a lot more responsibility than some of the other apprentices I've been speaking to.”

One of the good things about apprenticeships is the networking and interaction, according to Finley.

“I visited a range of departments at

Renishaw and met a bunch of different people, including other apprentices at GC.

“And the job itself is really interesting. As a Software Tester, I get to break software. Going a step above what was expected of me and seeing people’s reaction was my favourite thing.”

When Finley completed his apprenticeship, Renishaw offered him a full-time job.

“I am now working on R&D projects, and I have bigger responsibilities and get to do more interesting projects. I still have a lot of support but more independence to do my job.”

And he’s determined to continue learning.

“The job has been a lot of fun, as it involves testing software that controls massive robots. It’s quite different to every other job I’ve seen. If there was an opportunity for me to do a degree in software testing, I would have taken it too.”

How tech-savvy do you need to be for a career in IT?

“In my workplace, there are all sorts of people,” said Finley.

“You get people who are very technically minded and love computers, but there are others not as technically minded as a software tester. This can be advantageous, because they may pick up stuff I might miss. So just because your background isn’t technical, it doesn't mean that you will be at a disadvantage. It gives you a different viewpoint, and that's what you need in a good team.

“Cheltenham is one of the technical powerhouses in the country, and GC has a lot of connections to companies in cyber in Gloucestershire,” he went on. “So it’s a good place to start. GC’s classrooms have powerful PCs and all the equipment you need. I know that GC has been investing a lot of money into their IT and Cyber programmes and resources and it’s really good.”

Is an apprenticeship a good way into an industry?

Finley certainly thinks so. “Although apprentices work hard (and in my opinion, sometimes harder than university students), they have a massive headstart over the university graduates because of the work experience element. For example, a degree apprentice will come out with four years of great work experience where most recruiting companies require the minimum of three. University students will have the same qualifications but their work experience will be much less.”