A team of apprentices working at Leonardo in Bristol have been entrusted with taking the lead on setting up the IT systems at the company’s new building.
This marks the first time that the business has ever given cyber apprentices this type of project, which emerged following the expansion of the business due to an influx of more employees.
Steve Knight, Head of Engineering and Operations for UK Cyber & Security Solutions in Bristol, thinks that his belief in the apprentices has already been proved to be well placed.
Steve said: “When I learned we had a new building opening, I thought ‘we’ve got these apprentices, let’s see what they can do’. I was aware that Ben and Rhys are still only in the second year of their cyber apprenticeship, but I knew how capable they were, and I couldn’t be more proud of their professionalism. They’ve put in the cyber security systems, installing the ethernet to allow users to connect to the internet through the Wi-Fi. Sometimes you have to think on your feet in order to fix the problem, so there have been some learning experiences in there for them as well.”
Cyber Degree Apprentice Ben was drawn to the apprenticeship at the company due to the fact that cyber security is such a fast paced industry.
Ben said: “Cyber is such a dynamic environment, because you’re constantly adapting as the industry changes, and there are always more things to learn. I think that’s why I find it so interesting.”
Now that Ben has been working on the project for several months, it has provided him with a fuller context for the theory he is learning through his degree.
Ben said: “At university, I’m learning all of the theory about how cyber security works, how the internet functions and ways we can protect our infrastructure from potentially malicious attacks. But being able to apply these security principles in person in the real world is a whole other ball game. At the start of the project, Rhys and I chatted with Steve and some of the network engineers and they told us how we could build on top of our existing cyber infrastructure and extend the network to our new building. You’re getting hands on with hardware straight away, you’re plugging things in, you’re testing things out.”
Fellow Cyber Degree Apprentice Rhys is also studying Cyber Security as part of his apprenticeship at Leonardo.
Rhys said: “Our cyber security is fundamental to the operation of the business, so we’ve had to get it right. We test everything first in a safe environment before it goes live, so that we can ensure that the system works as we would expect it to. It was a bit overwhelming at first, and I’ve actually been surprised at how much we’ve been able to achieve in just a few months.”
Steve is keen to ensure that today’s generation of apprentices gain tangible skills that they can take with them to future roles, in contrast to his own experience of his apprenticeship.
Steve said: “My own memories of apprenticeships were being told what to do and personally I can’t think of anything more demotivating. Ben and Rhys have proven that if you set the goal and give them the freedom to reach it as they see best, they’ll exceed your expectations.”
Dean Fortt, Head of HR for UK Cyber & Security Solutions in Bristol said: “We trust our cyber apprentices to add value and deliver the moment they start working with us and it has been rewarding to see how they’ve grown through this project.”
