Apprentice IT Support Technician

Summary

During this apprenticeship you will learn the knowledge and skills required to analyse problems, identifying the cause and using your judgement to restore function in line with University C&IT standards. You will learn to communicate complex IT technical problems and requirements in an understandable fashion to non-technical staff.

Wage

£21,733 a year

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

rising to £27,166. per annum after 12 months service.

Training course

Information communications technician (level 3)

Hours

Usually Monday to Friday between 9am to 5pm.

36 hours a week

Start date

Tuesday 2 September 2025

Duration

1 year 6 months

Positions available

2

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

Main duties you will learn:

Be fully conversant with all areas of desktop IT support, including Windows desktop operating systems and Microsoft applications.
Troubleshooting of client-side faults and application of fixes to ensure continuity of network services solution, referring to more senior team members for specialist advice.
Ensuring client desktop connectivity to the campus network in accordance with the University’s networking standards, policy and infrastructure.
Setting up new users, printers and general system administration to ensure access to all networked servers and systems.
Obtaining quotes for computer equipment and software with guidance from more senior team members, and making recommendations on repair, retention or replacement.
Support the desktop service on an ongoing basis, working closely with the central IT Service Desk and senior team members where appropriate to ensure smooth resolution of support calls and ensuring that resolution details are recorded with the Service Desk for future reference.
Providing ad-hoc advice to PC users, either verbally or via written documentation.
You may be involved, as appropriate, in the support and development of the undergraduate IT cluster management. This will include support, maintenance, upgrade, development and liaising with departmental staff regarding cluster availability for taught courses.

General duties you will learn:

You will be responsible for ordering tasks within your workload and off-the-job training, and can refer to your line manager if required. You will co-ordinate with other team members to meet overall ITS priorities.
Proactively liaising with members of other technical teams to aid in the timely resolution of IT faults, ensuring resolution details are recorded for future reference.
Troubleshooting problems, assessing them and identifying solutions. You will refer more complex problems to more senior team members for in-depth specialist advice when necessary.
You will use your knowledge to deal with the main areas of desktop IT support.
Making an important contribution to the collective knowledge of the team by staying up to date with new technology, and maintaining an up-to-date overview of hardware and software relating to teaching and learning at the university.
Undertaking such other duties as may be required from time to time in furtherance of the work of IT Services.
Supporting equality and values diversity, moderating your own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.
Attends and participates in all required apprenticeship and related activities.

Where you'll work

Edgbaston
Birmingham
West Midlands
B15 2TT

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

College or training organisation

QA LIMITED

Your training course

Information communications technician (level 3)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

Interpret and prioritise internal or external customer's requirements in line with organisation's policy
Apply the appropriate tools and techniques to undertake fault finding and rectification
apply Continuous Professional Development to support necessary business output and technical developments
Operate safely and securely across platforms and responsibilities maintaining the security of personal data of internal and external stakeholders
Communicate with all levels of stakeholders, keeping them informed of progress and managing escalation where appropriate
Develop and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, customers and other relevant stakeholders
Manage and prioritise the allocated workload effectively making best use of time and resources
Complete documentation relevant to the task and escalate where appropriate
Install or undertake basic software upgrades,either physically or remotely
Establish and diagnose the extent of the IT support task, in line with the organisation's policies and Service Level Agreements
Provide remote/F2F support to resolve customer requirements
Maintain a safe working environment for own personal safety and others in line with Health & Safety appropriate to the task
Identify and scope the best solution informed by the system data associated with the task
Test and evaluate the system's performance and compliance with customer requirements.
Escalate non routine problems in line with procedures
Use basic scripting to execute the relevant tasks for example PowerShell, Linux
Carry out routine maintenance across systems, (such as IT, Communications), ensuring organisational compliance at all times
Apply the necessary security, in line with access and/or encryption requirements
Use a range of Cabling or Connectors equipment in line with technical requirements for example physically or remotely
Test and evaluate network environments
Monitor performance and usage of a network
Deploy applications on a network
Set up storage and data access for staff
Apply necessary security measures, in line with access requirements to a network
Carry out routine maintenance across network systems, ensuring organisational compliance
Monitor network-related workloads including DNS and firewalls
Install or undertake basic upgrades, either physically or remotely
Establish digital communication or telecommunications systems through, for example cabling and connecting equipment.
Identify a range of tools and or diagnostic equipment, for example, Hardware or Software components, to resolve Communications or Telecommunications requirements.
Undertake basic telecommunications activities, in response to an allocated task, designated responsibilities, instructions or customer’s requirements.
Use information necessary to identify operational issues and rectify or escalate accordingly in line with policy
Interpret and prioritise internal or external customer's requirements in line with organisation's policy
Apply the appropriate tools and techniques to undertake fault finding and rectification
apply Continuous Professional Development to support necessary business output and technical developments
Operate safely and securely across platforms and responsibilities maintaining the security of personal data of internal and external stakeholders
Communicate with all levels of stakeholders, keeping them informed of progress and managing escalation where appropriate
Develop and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, customers and other relevant stakeholders
Manage and prioritise the allocated workload effectively making best use of time and resources
Complete documentation relevant to the task and escalate where appropriate
Install or undertake basic software upgrades,either physically or remotely
Establish and diagnose the extent of the IT support task, in line with the organisation's policies and Service Level Agreements
Provide remote/F2F support to resolve customer requirements
Maintain a safe working environment for own personal safety and others in line with Health & Safety appropriate to the task

Your training plan

This training plan has not been finalised. Check with this employer if you’ll need to travel to a college or training location for this apprenticeship.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

Maths & English (grade Grade 4 and above)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
IT skills
Attention to detail
Organisation skills
Customer care skills
Problem solving skills
Presentation skills
Administrative skills
Number skills
Analytical skills
Logical
Team working
Initiative
Non judgemental
Patience
Physical fitness

About this company

A world top 100 university and part of the prestigious Russell Group, the University of Birmingham makes important things happen. Delivering groundbreaking research and excellent research led teaching. People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University. We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work. Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries. The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum, and botanical gardens.

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ (opens in new tab)

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

IT Support Technician.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

QA LIMITED

apprenticeships@contacts.bham.ac.uk

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000321996.

Apply now

Closes in 14 days (Sunday 8 June 2025)

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After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.

Company’s application instructions

Please apply via our recruitment site and remember to include an up to date cv.

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