HOW does the possibility of earning around £50,000 in a few years and having the pick of jobs in a thriving industry sound? Appealing, no doubt.
Belfast Met’s IT apprenticeship programme provides the opportunity to gain IT skills and knowledge alongside that all-important on-the-job experience.
Applications are open for the programme and will close on August 26.
Possible routes include the level 5 Higher Level apprenticeships in cyber security and networking infrastructure as well as a cloud and application development option. The Level 3 (A Level equivalent) options include digital forensics, networking infrastructure, and software development.
Countless apprentices have participated in the programme before and are now successfully climbing the industry career ladder – many in top companies such as Fujitsu and Citi in addition to entering the public sector through the NI Civil Service’s participation in the initiative.
Belfast Met is in prime position to deliver apprenticeships in this key skills growth area. The Department for the Economy has designated the college as the Further Education sector lead for digital IT education and training.
Fulfilling this role on behalf of Northern Ireland’s six colleges is seen as a fantastic accolade for Belfast Met, which takes pride in aligning itself to meet industry demand and providing relevant courses to meet the skills needs of learners and companies.
The college’s director of curriculum Dr Jonathan Heggarty MBE, explaining the benefits of taking on an IT apprenticeship at Belfast Met and a career in this industry, said: “There’s been tremendous growth in the IT sector in Northern Ireland and that is set to continue with new companies and jobs being announced all the time.
“This gives newly qualified learners a brilliant opportunity to land a well-paid and exciting job in a vibrant sector. There are so many different roles in IT these days and someone entering the field will have a lot of choice. The average salary for an experienced software engineer is around £50,000, which is considerably higher than the average Northern Ireland salary, and many IT companies offer a great range of additional benefits.”
:: For further information and to apply visit www.belfastmet.ac.uk/ITApprentice
