Lia

Lia's STORY

IT Degree Apprentice, SSE

IT Degree Apprentice
SSE

The opportunity to gain experience in different parts of the business, through a series of placements, together with the potential to study both business and IT as part of her university course, influenced Lia's decision to choose a degree apprenticeship with SSE.

What do you do and where do you do it?

As a degree apprentice I move around the business every 6 months, which means I receive training and development in different business areas. I am currently working in IT Change Management at SSE, based in Havant, Hampshire. A change manager role is important to the business because we support the operations of SSE Group companies and their customers through the control of change to IT systems and services. This process is essential to reduce risk to the business.

What pathway did you choose to secure your apprenticeship?

To get onto this degree apprenticeship scheme, I had to obtain a IT Level 3 BETC. I applied for different Degree Apprentice schemes, although SSE was in my top five of places that I wanted to work. One of the things that really appealed was the potential to gain experience in different departments, via six monthly placements. Also I liked the fact that the university course has a mixture of business and IT modules.

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The thing that attracted me to join the energy and utilities sector, was that it is a developing industry. This means that there are always new challenges to keep you on your toes.

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What do you think of the career prospects?

There are a lot of career prospects at SSE. As we move around the business every 6 months we get to have training and development in different business areas. For example, I have worked in Data and Analytics where we ran and created reports for the business. I have also worked with Corporate Solutions; this team that looks after our payroll systems. In this placement I help manage their upgrade releases and in my current placement, Change management, we develop solutions to reduce risk to the Business.

During each placement we learn how each team works and about what our job role will contain. This is an effective way find out what I enjoy doing and also understand what I am good at! As SSE is a large company we also have an internal system called LMS where you learn new things and develop your own skills.

What does an average day consist of?

In my current role an average day consist of talking to the customers to make sure there are following our process,looking at our queue, to see what changes are awaiting authorisation and monitoring the group inbox to see if there is any questions or issues. I also Chair a CAB (Change Advisory Board) Meeting – a meeting held daily where Major Changes are discussed and approved by Core CAB representatives.

Would you recommend your job to a friend and why?

Yes, I would recommend this apprenticeship scheme to a friend, as it is effective way to network and get your foot in the door.of a leading organisation. There may of course be challenges along the way, but it’s important to carry on – focus on the positives and the things you enjoy.