Astro apprentices enter ITP Apprentice of the Year Award 2015
Astro apprentices compete against each other and industry peers for the prestigious ITP Apprentice of the Year Award
A guest blog by Astro sales apprentice Joe Wing. Over to you Joe…
James Tuck and I were recruited by Astro in 2013/2014 and embarked on an invaluable Level 3 ITP Apprenticeship which has provided us with possibly the best understanding of the fundamentals of our industry. It is already proving to be very effective for us both. James deals with Astro’s medium to large customers on a daily basis; raising tickets and resolving first and second line technical faults, and has more recently been given the responsibility of looking after Astro’s internal IT. This has allowed James to further his personal and professional development and without the apprenticeship, would not be achieving the goals he has been set by the company and those set by himself.
I have also found the technical content of the apprenticeship extremely useful, as I deal with existing and high-end new business customers on a daily basis. The apprenticeship has furthered my technical ability, enabling me to ‘keep up’ with our customers’ sometimes complex requirements and really get a feel for what it is they want to achieve.
“It goes without saying that Astro must maintain the highest standard of professionalism at all times…”
It goes without saying that Astro must maintain the highest standard of professionalism at all times given the seriousness of our business and the clients we deal with. However, in the past, apprentices in the industry in general have been known to be exceptions. The phrase “Oh well, they are just an apprentice” is not an option our organisation. James and I both accept that we are very much part of the team and represent Astro at all times, upholding exceptional discipline and integrity.
With this in mind James and I have been put forward to apply for the ITP Apprentice of the Year Award 2015; a prestigious event with presentations at the annual ITP Dinner in London. We both attended the dinner last year to watch our predecessors receive the awards they had worked so hard for over the previous year. Maggie Philbin was a keynote speaker at last years’ event.
“We already feel like winners within Astro so it will a fantastic achievement no matter who wins…”
There has been some healthy competition between us young apprentices. With James being a member of the technical team and me being a sales team member. It would be fair to say we are working hard to compete against each other, however, together we are going to ensure nothing has been left unturned come 29 October, the date set for this years’ annual ITP Dinner.
It is going to be an exciting event this year, with at least 10 members of the Astro team watching eagerly to see how well James and I do. Please look out for posts from Astro to see how we get on. We already feel like winners within Astro so it will a fantastic achievement no matter who wins the ITP Apprentice of the Year award 2015!