"The College is great: all the teachers and staff give you the space to figure things out on your own, but they are also there if you’re ever in trouble. It’s a really nice environment to work and study in – a mixture of independence and reliance."
Southwark resident Jack Jackson was determined to carve out a career in the ever-changing world of IT and decided that a BTEC Level 3 IT was a step in the right direction.
“The course pushes students not just to learn skills, but to use them in real life situations,” he says. “As part of the course, you get the chance to play different roles within the IT industry like project manager and system analyst which is a great way to learn how to use the skills you’ve learnt.
“The College is great: all the teachers and staff give you the space to figure things out on your own, but they are also there if you’re ever in trouble. It’s a really nice environment to work and study in – a mixture of independence and reliance."
During the course, Jack spent four days at the Apex Hotel based at Tower Hill and Fleet Street where he shadowed the network manager and saw the challenges of working in IT at first hand.
“The hotel was changing its networks and the network manager oversaw this as well as offering general technical support to staff, so I got to meet a lot of people and discovered how every department is different. The job requires lots of flexibility but there is also plenty of variety – every day on placement was completely different, which really appealed to me.”
Aside from his placement, Jack’s greatest achievement during his course has been completing his Duke of Edinburgh Award which ended with a two-day trek with only a map and a compass to help the team find base camp. “It really put my skills of independence, team working, determination and resourcefulness to the test, and made me a stronger leader,” he says.
