In 2022, apprenticeships will make up 30% of the UK’s overall recruitment rate, with many of these opportunities aiming to support the wider economic challenge of youth unemployment and the digital skills gap.
In the past eight years, Capgemini has trained more than 300 apprentices in Scotland, 97% of which are based in the Highlands and have held a UK-wide retention rate of more than 90% over a five-year period. This achievement, alongside its nationwide apprenticeship programme focusing on digital skills, has led to the company being named a finalist in the Large Employer of the Year category of the Scottish Apprenticeship awards.
Lewis Mitchell and Lucy Macpherson are perfect examples of local residents whose careers were kickstarted thanks to the Capgemini apprenticeship programme. Lewis (left) went from being an industrial cleaner, with no formal digital skills or experience, to currently being one of Capgemini’s best Senior Infrastructure Engineers, having travelled across the UK and Europe to take part in exciting projects.
Lucy (right) left school unsure of what career path she wanted to follow and decided to take a retail apprenticeship based on her knowledge of the industry from working at the local Asda. Knowing the various opportunities apprenticeships can promote, Lucy enrolled in an apprenticeship programme that would encompass her interests and passions. 6 years later, she is currently a successful Endpoint Specialist at Capgemini.
As we approach Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2022, read more about their experiences below, and learn the benefits that Apprenticeships can bring to our digital sector.
Lewis Mitchell
Lewis Mitchell had a natural aptitude for technology from a young age when he would spend his time playing around with old devices and learning basic coding. He was even considered to be his family’s IT support resource. He went on to get good grades in computer school but never considered IT as a career due to a lack of understanding the opportunities available.
With no clear career direction, he began working full time as an industrial cleaner to help pay the bills. Constantly on the lookout for a new job, he came across an advert from Capgemini offering apprenticeship and vendor certificates. Successful in his application, he joined the company in August 2014 as part of the SCQF level 6 IT Professionals apprenticeship programme. In the summer of 2015, Lewis completed his first course arming him with the skills and confidence to take his career even further.
In 2016, he took the opportunity to expand his skillset further and moved into the Projects and Consulting side of the business as an infrastructure engineer. This role gave him the opportunity to be a part of projects across the UK and Europe which involved him travelling to different countries, working with multiple clients and completing further apprenticeship modules in between departure lounges.
Fast forward to 2022 and with seven years of experience, Lewis is now one of Capgemini’s most successful senior infrastructure engineers who leads the test and development infrastructure team for public sector clients. Despite beginning with no formal skills or experience, Lewis’s determination and willingness to progress through Capgemini’s apprenticeship programmes is all it took to open various opportunities that would help to shape his future success in the IT Industry.
Lucy Macpherson
Lucy Macpherson left school with no set career direction and decided to take on a full-time job in the retail sector at her local Asda store. While working for Asda, she completed a retail apprenticeship which gave her a first taste of an apprenticeship and how it could be beneficial for career aspirations.
She loved the structure of an apprenticeship programme so much that she decided to search for a job that could benefit her future career. That’s when she saw an Apprenticeship offer for Information and Technology, which reminded Lucy of her enjoyment of fixing anything technology-related.
In 2015, she successfully earned an Apprenticeship with Capgemini and began working on the Service Desk while completing her study. The hands-on apprenticeship enabled Lucy to learn and earn at the same time, so she jumped at the opportunity to enrol in a further apprenticeship within the technology space.
More than six years later, Lucy is a successful Endpoint Specialist at Capgemini and is truly grateful for the various apprenticeship opportunities that the company has offered to help bolster her career, despite having no prior skills within the tech industry.