Stockport Council is committed to providing apprenticeship opportunities and has put 144 new apprentices into position during 2017/18. During National Apprenticeship Week we are giving one of the apprentices in our digital team a chance to describe their experience.

Josh Adesoba is an apprentice developer working within our Digital by Design teams. Josh, who spent his early childhood in New York, moved here from London to start in this role in September 2017, following a year studying Computer Science and a number of jobs within the IT industry.

He was delighted to be offered one of the coveted places on our University Apprenticeship Programme and is looking forward to spending the next four years in Stockport. “Four years of constant training and learning will really help my career. I’ve never had the opportunity to work in one place with steady support for so long before.”

He attends Manchester Metropolitan University one day a week and balances the rest of his assignments and studies around his work commitments, adding that the Council does make allowances for University work commitments. At the end of his four-year degree course, he will graduate with a BSc in Digital and Technology Solutions.

Josh will have the opportunity to work with all of the digital teams who are creating Stockport’s new website and digital tools. The apprentices are regularly ‘paired’ with experienced developers to give them the opportunity to work on live projects. He particularly enjoyed his recent experiences working on ‘accessibility’ for online appointment bookings, ensuring that visually impaired residents using screen readers can access our new digital services.

He speaks highly of his colleagues in the digital teams. “I’m very lucky to be placed within a team with so many different skills. I work with a wide variety of people here and everyone has been very welcoming. They take the time to help me if I have questions, they involve me in their stand-ups and I have the option of contact with a range of roles other than developers, which means I’ve really had the chance to learn how things work within the Council and feel involved.”

Moving here from London has been quite a change for Josh and he admits he is only just getting to know Stockport. “The people here are really friendly and I’m enjoying the fact that it’s a lot less crazy than London! I can take a leisurely stroll around the local area centre or check out the city sights without a sense of urgency.”

What advice would he have for others who might be considering a University apprenticeship? “You instantly become a valued team member! It is very rewarding to know your contributions could help improve projects, whether it be making notes or creating code. It can get stressful trying to balance University and work commitments, and you do carry on working a little longer during school breaks, but it is a fantastic opportunity to gain experience, engaging in real projects for clients. You also get to earn money without any worry of debt, and in my case, move to a new city. There’s no obvious downside!”