Apprentices join the IT crowd at the University of St Andrews

Thursday 4 October 2012

IT apprentices

Sam Foster, Peter Woodbridge and Steven Gonzales started work with the IT Services department at the University last month (September).

The new recruits will be working in the Service Desk, Web and Desktop teams – gaining a wide range of technical, practical and customer-care skills.

Steve Watt, Chief Information Officer at the University of St Andrews, said the apprentices would be able to tap into a wide range of IT expertise during their time at the University and receive invaluable support from training firm QA.

He said:  “I’m delighted that we are able to offer three apprenticeship posts in my team for up to two years.

“It will give these young adults a great on-the-job learning experience, whilst receiving invaluable training and support from QA.

“Steven, Peter and Sam are joining the University at a very exciting time – as we approach our 600th anniversary.

“We’re the third oldest University in the UK – but we work hard to be innovative, customer-focused and forward-thinking in terms of IT.

“I very much hope that they enjoy their experience and relish the wide range of skills and experiences we can offer them.”

The apprenticeships at St Andrews were advertised on the IT page of the Apprenticeships in Scotland website as well as being directly targeted towards local schools and colleges.

Apprenticeships in Scotland is the national vacancy handling service for youth employment which aims to create opportunities for young people and connect them with employers.

Founded in 2009, it is a social enterprise project run by young people with the help and support of career professionals.

Current clients of Apprenticeships in Scotland include the BBC, IBM, Microsoft, Virgin Media, BT, Volkswagen, Diageo and Fujitsu.

The Scottish Government has made a commitment to guarantee a place in training or education to all 16-19 year olds.

The appointments come in the same month that Digital-Printer Finisher Callum Lockhart, who works in the University’s Print Unit, was a runner-up in the Scottish Training Federation’s Apprentice of the Year Awards.

Callum narrowly missed out on the top prize after completing his apprenticeship, achieving Scottish Vocational Qualifications in Digital Print Finishing and Digital Print Production and becoming a full staff member.

Note to editors

For image please contact the press office.

Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews
Contact Fiona MacLeod on 01334 462108/ 0771 414 0559.
Ref: (IT 04/10/12)


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