The company’s flagship training programme is a Level 3 Advanced IT Apprenticeship Programme in IT Systems and Networking. The apprenticeship has been developed in partnership with Oak’s training provider, New Horizons Computer Learning Centres, and Highbury College, both based in Portsmouth. The course will be accredited by City & Guilds.
First Line Support Technician, Daniel Sosnowski, is the first to be enrolled on the year-long scheme that will see him gain vendor certifications from CompTIA and Microsoft as part of his Level 3 award. The course will provide a strong technical grounding via a virtual learning platform, combined with external mentoring and assessment in the workplace. Sosnowski will be joined by another member of the team as part of the September intake, and there are plans to make the scheme available to others in the future.
Annie Turner, Human Resources Manager at Oak, is delighted with the development, “This is a brilliant opportunity for our technical support team, who have a very demanding job that requires both in-depth product knowledge and good interpersonal and communication skills. In terms of training, this signifies a new direction for Oak Innovation Limited, and we believe that it will benefit our people individually and add significant strength to the service we provide.”
In addition to the apprenticeship programme, Oak will be providing CompTIA Network+ training for the whole of the technical support team. Joint-CEO Phil Reynolds sees the upskilling of the workforce as having strategic value as Oak continues to expand into mid-market territory.
“On the one hand we are investing in our people and giving them career opportunities; on the other hand we want to provide customers with the very best service and support that we can offer, and ensure we compare favourably against the competition. I believe this upskilling will help our excellent team gain confidence, and be better equipped, to deal with the complex business and product scenarios that the mid-market entails.”