Jera, an accomplished IT support provider with Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire, and Glasgow IT Support offices, has launched its new Jera IT Academy. The academy is designed to provide opportunities for young people and address the growing shortage of cyber professionals serving local business communities.
The IT Academy offers a one-year Foundation Apprenticeship to pupils in the Senior Phase who are keen to gain practical experience from talented technicians and engineers and transition into an IT role or a second-year Modern IT Apprenticeship.
Exploring Educational IT Opportunities in Scotland
Part of the drive behind the IT Academy relates to the glaring global shortage of skilled IT professionals, with six million international vacancies. In Scotland, the low availability of trained providers of cybersecurity, managed IT and help desk support services mean thousands of businesses are left exposed to cyber-attacks and digital crimes, including hacking and data theft.
Established over twenty years ago, Jera saw a way to catalyse improvements in local talent and education for young people and contribute to a larger workforce in the specialist sector, tackling these ongoing issues head-on.
For young people with an interest in IT, the benefits of achieving a formal qualification and the essential real-world experience an apprenticeship offers are compelling:
- IT roles attract above-average salaries and offer excellent progression routes as technologies and the demands of growing businesses and sectors advance.
- Qualified technicians and engineers can use their skills to work in any location, sector, or industry they wish, or they can even use their knowledge to enter international job markets.
- Working within IT offers a good work/life balance, with many technicians working remotely, focusing on specific niches, or accessing further learning to develop a specialism.
As a locally founded business that serves clients across Scotland and nationwide, Jera decided to take action, recognising that unemployment rates in Scotland are consistently high. The latest available statistics show an unemployment rate of 4.5%, with 126,000 people in Scotland out of work in quarter four of 2023.
Attending the Jera IT Academy to Gain a Foundation Apprenticeship
A Foundation Apprenticeship covers a broad range of baseline skills. Importantly, an apprenticeship equips learners with both field experience and theoretical knowledge, with 78% of businesses who hire apprentices reporting improvements in productivity.
The benefits apply to both the business and the pupil. Companies can provide training and support for students who may find classroom-based learning challenging, while the organisation is able to tap into the fresh knowledge of a diverse, skills-focused workforce that often acquires high-level abilities before their training ends.
Jera's Level 6 apprenticeship, equivalent to a Higher qualification, lasts one year and is offered to pupils in the Senior Phase, adapted around their timetables. Successful apprenticeship applicants will receive both digital tuition and in-person learning at Jera's Straiton Business Park location in Edinburgh.
Jera Director, Ally Hollins-Kirk, says, 'We can see first-hand how shortages in skilled IT technicians impact our clients while recognising that even the best educational establishments, schools and colleges struggle to deliver the curriculums that enable talented students to achieve all they are capable of.
Our vision in building the Jera IT Academy is to use our knowledge, decades of experience, and passion for technology and innovation to offer high calibre learning opportunities based on our commitment to excellence, kickstarting careers for the next generation of cyber security specialists.
Apprentices will be invited to attend networking opportunities, meet some of the most prominent Scottish businesses, and use our state-of-the-art security kit and training facilities here in Edinburgh.
The Academy has long been an ambition, and we are delighted to see it launch, teaching those intangible skills around customer service and communication that have helped us achieve the highest Google reviews in the city.’
Interested applicants are advised to contact their Deputy Head, Guidance Teacher or the Jera team directly for more information about enrolling in the Jera IT Academy.
Read more about Jera - How Cloud Solutions For Businesses Make Remote And Hybrid Working More Productive
About Jera
Jera provides fully managed IT support, cybersecurity services, telecoms systems, and IT strategy consultancy to businesses based in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and the surrounding areas.
Media Contact:
John Beattie
Marketing and Events Manager
Jera
0131 5100 100
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Source Company: https://jerait.co.uk
