Microsoft training Black Country kids in joys of IT

Microsoft is helping youngsters in the Black Country learn about the joys of IT - and also plugging a skills gap for helpdesk support technicians in the region.

The software giant has launched an apprenticeship scheme for 16- to 19-year-olds to gain vocational IT support skills and ultimately help tackle businesses' tech skills shortages in the West Midlands.

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Youngsters gain a variety of qualifications on the scheme while being employed full time - including a Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) and an NVQ in System Support at Level 3 and an Advanced Diploma as an IT Professional for Level 3.

They also get CompTIA A+ and Key Skills level 2 for numeracy and literacy, according to Dominic Gill, West Midlands regional manager at Microsoft.

Gill said: "So it's a really good rounded expertise that they come out with," describing the MCDST as "a specific benchmark along the Microsoft curriculum roadmap".

The first intake of 30 kids on the ICT Apprenticeship Programme will complete their five month's training next month and another set of 30 will be taken on in September. The scheme is being run by IT training organisation Zenos, a Microsoft IT Academy partner, with the support of the government's Learning & Skills Council (LSC) and local regeneration organisation the Black Country Consortium (BCC).

Gill told silicon.com the focus on tailoring training to the local region is what makes the scheme "special".

He said: "We've combined the objectives with a sub-regional development agency - the Black Country Consortium - and also the Learning & Skills Council (LSC) - so it's looking at how can we start to address skills issues for local businesses, how can we start to address employability and IT skills within the employee base within a local region and one which is significantly deprived at the moment. This is what makes it unique."

The first intake of students has responded "very very positively" to the scheme, according to Gill.

He added: "They do get specific business experience - a lot of it is related to how would they actually address these issues in an actual business environment which from the company's point of view - and indeed the employee's point of view - it's fairly significant."

Youngsters are recruited to the scheme by Zenos' school and college outreach programmes. Gill said the training organisation also works closely with local businesses to ensure a high percentage of apprentices find full time jobs after completing the course.

"I think they've got something close to a 98 per cent rate of successful placement of people that pass the course," he said. The pass rate is also high - around 85 to 90 per cent of all students.

Gill is meeting with the LSC next month to look at ways of funding more apprenticeships in other parts of the UK. "It's been that much of a success the LSC are looking to look at how they can widen this out. How can we get more people coming in? The interesting thing about this [apprenticeship scheme] is it actually makes IT more of an interesting career for people who might not normally think that."