WIREDGOV

Liverpool-based Alex Burns is the first person in England to complete the new BCS Apprenticeship Standard Level 4 in Network Engineering, and has done it with style, by gaining a distinction.

He joined 3aaa Apprenticeship’s Liverpool academy over a year ago where he completed his IT Level 3 Apprenticeship. Alex then became one of first Apprentices to enrol on the new Network Engineer Apprenticeship Standard.

Alex’s employer Stack Interconnect, part of the Liverpool based company, Stack Group, specialise in the provision of IT services and management, providing a comprehensive range of services including all aspects of cloud, security, virtualisation, data services, unified communications and Infrastructure. Whilst on his Network Engineer Apprenticeship, Alex worked on network designs, copper cabling, Fibre Optics, Wi-Fi, lasers, CCTV and Radio Bridges, learning the technical skills during his academy days to assist him in his day to day activities within the workplace.

Mark Darnell, Technical Sales and Support Manager of the Stack Interconnect division commented on Alex’s outstanding achievement: “I have seen Alex’s character, confidence and ability grow vastly over the course of his Apprenticeship. His growing abilities have meant that he is becoming an ever increasingly important member of my Network Engineering team. Alex is an example to all that hard work really does pay off. It is also great kudos to Alex and Stack Interconnect, that he is the very first Network Engineer Apprentice to complete in the country.”

John Pritchard, Head of Apprenticeships, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, commented: “BCS is proud to have completed the first End-Point Assessment in Network Engineer Level 4 and to see Alex gain a distinction. It was good to see his passion and enthusiasm for his role, the scope of tasks and trust his employer has invested in him. Alex should be very proud of his achievements and for becoming the first Digital Apprentices to complete with BCS. 3aaa should also be commended for their support of Alex and to training him to achieve such a high standard. A big thank you to all involved and I wish Alex all the best for the future.”

Alex said: “Stack Interconnect has been a great place for me to learn everything I needed to know, to not only succeed within my Apprenticeship, but in building a career for myself. With a fantastic and supportive environment, I have been able to rapidly learn all of the relevant skills and technologies I have needed to succeed and continue to develop.”

“I really enjoyed the programme and learnt a great deal of knowledge from it. The 3aaa Academy was a great platform for me to complete the training and become the best at my job that I could possibly be.” 

Apprenticeships, which are designed through the trailblazer group of employers, for employers, reinforce the working environment within a business and support growth for not only the business and its operations, but individual employees, giving them the opportunity to excel and progress their careers.

Peter Marples, 3aaa Group Chief Executive added: “We are delighted that Alex is the first successful Network Engineer Level IV Apprentice in the country. This is down to the hard work of Alex, his employer Stack Interconnect and the team here at 3AAA in Liverpool who have all worked as a partnership to support Alex. The new Apprenticeship Standards are much more stretching than the old frameworks and Alex is justifiably proud of his achievement and we will be celebrating with him over the next few days.”

To find out more about Apprenticeships visit: bcs.org/apprenticeships

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