Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week at Sage

The annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships which begins today, 8th February, takes place across the UK and showcases how apprenticeships have helped employers and people of all ages and backgrounds.  

Our apprenticeship programme here at Sage has been a huge success since we first started recruiting Apprentices in 2016. We now recruit Apprentices and Graduates across most of our business functions and many have gone on to develop their career further at Sage.  

This week, we’re shining a light on some of our fantastic Apprentices we have at Sage, finding out what they get up to in their day-to-day jobs, and just how much they contribute to our strategy and culture at Sage.  

Our Apprentices are truly valued members of the Sage team, but don’t take my word for it, let’s hear what their Managers have to say: 

 Ben Aung, EVP Chief Risk Officer  

“Apprenticeships are a critical component of our recruitment strategy. There is a global cyber security skills shortage, unemployment has been estimated at around 0% for several years and so just finding and hiring people later in their careers is not enough. By investing in apprentices, we gain fresh ideas and opportunity to help shape their development to help us solve our hardest security problems.” 

Declan Hare, Content Marketing Strategy and Operation 

“We've had a number of apprentices in our team and they've been outstanding! Personally, I couldn't imagine not having an apprentice on the team now; it's been a game-changer!” 

 Joanne Taylor, Lead Project Support Officer 

“Having our Apprentice has been a great boost to the team. His enthusiasm in all he does is infectious, and he gives us a different lens in how we look at things. When we have worked on continuous improvement projects, he has brought fresh insight to the table” 

 Rachel Chambers, Team Manager 

“Apprentices bring so much energy to Customer Service, are so eager to learn and succeed, and so adaptable they honestly astound me every year with what they bring to the table! We are very lucky in CS to have an Apprenticeship programme that brings in new Apprentices every year to join Sage and it’s important to me that we’re able to continue recruiting Apprentices to identify talent at an early stage in their careers and shape them into great technicians.”  

A Day in the Life of an Apprentice

To shine a light on some of our fantastic apprentices here at Sage, we asked a group of our Year 1 and Year team to take us through a day in their working lives. Kouassi Anguie, Luke Mossetig and Joe Little created 3 impressive videos, while Cameron Houghton, Abs Lee, Adam Tinning and Mihaela Tanase shared blogs with us, to give us an insight in to their day.

Read the Apprentice blogs here:

Mihaela Tanase, Global Security Apprentice, Year 1

“Hi! My name is Mihaela and I am a Global Security Apprentice at Sage.

I first joined Sage in October and my experience so far has been great. When I first started, I had a dedicated onboarding week in which I got the chance to find out more about Sage products and people from different departments. This helped me understand Sage's open and friendly culture. I then got the chance to talk to different team leaders and decide which team I want to start in. This has been beneficial in understanding expectations, roles and working dynamics. It was made clear from the start that we can voice questions and concerns whenever we want. This resulted in me not worrying about potentially messaging the wrong person since everyone takes time out to help anyone that reaches out.

During my first weeks in the Application Security team, I was assigned a buddy. This is an addition to the wider Security buddies that I have already been assigned to for the duration of the apprenticeship. Buddies make it easier to ask questions and get feedback. Instructions are clearer if there's a person making suggestions and adapting to your learning style, which in turn results in a great way of assessing where improvement can be made.

Compared to the limited experience of learning from home I had in college, Sage handles remote working in an organised and clear way. It is really easy to set up meetings, plan your learning and reach out to people. Although I haven't experienced the office atmosphere, I would say that it might be harder to get to know people without constantly reaching out, whereas potentially in an office interaction would be more spontaneous and less formulaic.

The part that I love about my role is relating topics I have learned to scenarios presented, mentioned, or reproduced during meetings. Learning about things, testing and seeing results is essential when it comes to my preferred way of learning. Even if the tasks I'm given at times may not make sense, it all comes together once I put everything I have been explained in practice whilst also doing my own research, thus enabling me to create my own ways of dealing with new information. I wouldn't say there were significant challenges along the way, the times I got stuck just required more reflection and patience.

Currently I'm studying for the first part of my course which is Network and Digital Communication Theory. My favourite part is the encouragement we get from the people around us to find our own way around understanding the content material. This is very different to the learning environment I have experienced so far in academic contexts, meaning we have more time dedicated to tailoring learning material based on our strengths.

I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone looking into gaining experience and practical knowledge on a specific subject. This comes along with a significant improvement in other soft skills such as communication and adaptability.”

Abigail Lee, Technical Support Apprentice, Year 1

“How do you sum up a day in the life of an Apprentice working through a pandemic? You can try to relate it to something you have experienced before but the truth is, it’s not!

I have known my colleagues since October and never seen them beyond a screen. Every day starts the same with our morning huddle where we discuss our goals for the day and how we are going to make the day count, regardless of the current climate. During these times, it is so important to keep each other afloat which is one of the things I truly love about working for Sage; they genuinely care. Whether its check-ins from your manager, or fun games and challenges to help keep our spirits up. Working in a customer facing role really helps with the isolation we face at the moment, having valuable conversations with customers who are facing all sorts of challenges due to COVID allows us to relate with customers and offer support in these difficult times. 

We often have team meetings where we can catch up with each other and share any tips and tricks we have learnt throughout the week to offer a helping hand with our roles. We constantly strive as a team to better each other and ourselves, by offering support with things we have experienced while taking calls. Although these unprecedented times can cause worry or stress, it’s refreshing to see how we band together as a team. As 5 o’clock rolls round and we reflect on the day, it’s nice to check in with everyone for a casual chat and a catch up on the day’s antics, before switching off for the night to relax. “

Adam Tinning, Technical Support Apprentice, Year 1

“Starting my first ever job at such a difficult time for everyone was definitely an experience I will never forget!

Since October I have been a Technical Support Apprentice, providing customers assistance and advice on their payroll queries. It has certainly been different meeting my team over Microsoft Teams rather than face to face, but together we have made it work and are extremely supportive of each other with everything we do.

Every morning we have a team meeting to discuss our individual focus for the day ahead and make each other aware of any changes or information that we should be aware of before we start taking calls or webchats; it’s a great way to start the day! After this, we are ready to go online and help Sage customers with their queries and provide the best customer service possible.

A benefit to the role is that we talk to many different people across the UK and Ireland and learn more about their businesses and what they do; particularly how they are coping with COVID at the moment and if we can help in any way.

Whilst working from home, it is very important to ensure everyone is feeling supported, something Sage and our Team Managers are excellent at doing! We often have team meetings and other group calls going on throughout our days at work so that we can support each other, share any best practice, and provide advice to each other. Even though we have never met in person – we are a team and will do anything to help each other thrive at work; especially during these unprecedented times.”

Cameron Houghton, Technical Support Apprentice, Year 1

“As a Technical Support Apprentice at Sage, I start my job at 09:00, So I tend to set my alarm for 7:30 however I do not roll out of bed till 8:30 (Advantages of working from home!). I started the apprenticeship in October 2020 and the pandemic has restricted me to my desk at home instead of the offices which I am yet to see.

A normal day for me would be to join my teams huddle at 08:55 ready in time for out teams’ huddle. In this we talk about the successes from the previous day and some areas where we can improve as a frontline agent. After the team huddle, I do the next activity as my schedule informs me to do. This can be from taking calls, taking webchats or self-development. Calls are extremely beneficial to me as ever since taking calls my confidence has grown massively and I feel more comfortable talking to people. Self-development is used to catch up on work that is needed with regards to the college for the apprenticeship or any tasks set by my manager. After everything that was set on my schedule is done, I log off for the day and prepare myself for the next day.

The apprenticeship is very rewarding and allows individuals to come out of their shell and expand their skills. Since joining I have become more confident in myself and I have also put myself forward for many things within the business such as Sage foundation work and other things. This is due to the growth in confidence I have had since joining Sage.”

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Rate My Apprenticeship Awards

There is no denying that 2020 was a pretty terrible year all-round, but there was light at the end of the tunnel when ‘Rate my Apprenticeship’ rated Sage as the ‘Number 1 employer’ in the North East and number 3 in the UK in their ‘Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers’ poll! https://www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk/top-employers

The site offers students the chance to learn more about companies they might wish to apply with, by providing frank reviews from Apprentices who are already in role at the company. Our Apprentices all gave reviews of the Apprenticeship programme at Sage and steered us toward this very prestigious award!!

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Apprentice Tik Tok Challenge 

Sage Apprentices, here’s how you can get involved in National Apprenticeship week and be in with the chance to win some fantastic prizes. 

To enter, create recreate our current #BossIt TV advert with the help of your family and tag @SageUKI on TikTok with the hashtag #BossIt2021 & #ApprenticesBossIt then share your videos on Twitter and/or Facebook using @SageUK and the same hashtags. 

The submissions for your competition will be open across National Apprenticeship week with entries opening on the 6th February and closing at 14:00 on the 11th February. All apprentices will receive a gift for taking part, with prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, judged by Kerry Sinclair, EVP IT and Bradley Tooth #BossIt2021 Campaign Manager! 

Get ready to #BossIt!!! 

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To summarise, we have the best Apprentices on the planet working for Sage!! Ok, I know I am biased, but it is true! Each and every one of them has truly thrown themselves in to the role, and also got involved with extra-curricular activities, such as Sage Foundation events and event presenting to schools and colleges.

Apprentices: This is your week. Thank you for being you!