Eleven young people from across the Island have taken up positions with companies including Manx Telecom, PDMS and Antelle as part of their first year of study with University College Isle of Man.
The students are studying and working as part of the Isle of Man’s new ICT Apprenticeship Scheme.
Laurence Skelly MHK, Minister for the Department of Economic Development commented:
‘The launch of this scheme is a credit to the Manx ICT Association (MICTA), the Department of Education and Children and the Department of Economic Development’s Employment and Skills team. All of these organisations are working towards supporting the flourishing ICT and E-Business sectors on the Island. We look forward to building on the success of the scheme’s launch in the years to come.’
Graham Cregeen MHK, Minister for Education and Children commented:
‘Equipping our young people with the skills they need for success within the Manx economy is fundamental to our strategy. These apprentices will not only benefit from top-class training from University College Isle of Man, but gain real world work experience and income. Apprenticeships are a great alternative to traditional further and higher education routes and the strong support from industry has been encouraging.’
Neal Kelly, Infrastructure and Facilities Manager at PDMS, said:
‘As a technology company we always recruit talented people, but have struggled to find enough candidates with the right experience in the past. As a result, my team decided to change our recruitment strategy and we now more often choose to develop people into IT professionals, rather than just hiring ready-made employees. The ICT Apprenticeship Scheme is a perfect fit for this approach and came along at the right time for our businesses.’
Kurt Roosen, Chairman of Manx ICT Association said:
‘MICTA and its members are delighted with this joint initiative, which is essential to promote and nurture the skilled people we need to grow our industry – we certainly hope to grow this year on year.’
Photo - Laurence Skelly.
