Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week: Tom Brown's Journey
12 Feb 2025
National Apprenticeship Week is a time to celebrate the incredible impact apprenticeships have in creating new opportunities for both individuals and businesses. Here at Sort, we’re dedicated to cultivating young talent through our diverse apprenticeship programmes, providing individuals with hands-on experience across various departments in the Legal, IT and Marketing sectors. By working alongside experienced professionals, our apprentices not only develop valuable skills but also gain the knowledge and confidence to thrive in their chosen careers and make a lasting impact within the company.
In this blog post, we're excited to introduce Tom Brown, our very first apprentice to join the IT team at Sort. Tom will be sharing his journey, along with valuable insights and lessons learned from the apprenticeship programme.
What made you choose to go down the apprenticeship route?
I would say it came from not having the qualifications needed to get into a role that matched my interests. An apprenticeship allowed me to get my foot in the door. Not only that, but I’m a much more hands-on learner. I struggle to stay focused if someone just talks at me for a long time or asks me to copy notes, as neither task fully engages my brain. On the other hand, learning on the job, working with a system, component, or methodology while practicing helps me absorb and retain information.
Can you describe your apprenticeship role and the type of work you’re doing?
I’m an IT apprentice, which involves managing systems, supporting users, and looking after devices. On a day-to-day basis, this could mean working on a project to research and provision new software or monitoring the helpdesk to ensure user satisfaction.
The key skills this role involves are problem-solving, critical thinking, and, surprisingly, people skills - arguably one of the most important aspects of the job. A lot of my work is about interacting with people, identifying problems, analysing them, and finding solutions.
How has the apprenticeship helped you develop new skills?
It has helped me work on a lot of soft skills, particularly my writing. I’m now much better at professional writing, as well as writing in general. It’s also forced me to improve task management, prioritisation, and documentation - all essential skills I wasn’t as strong at before.
What’s the best advice your mentor has given you so far?
“Don’t run before you can walk.” The relevance of this advice is clear, as I tend to fly through tasks and make lots of small mistakes along the way - mistakes I probably wouldn’t have made if I’d taken my time. Sometimes I rush through complex processes as if I’ve done them a million times before when it’s actually only my first or second attempt. Once I’ve successfully done something once, I’m keen to develop it further rather than focusing on securing the process for future success.
What do you think apprenticeships bring to the business?
I think apprenticeships offer businesses the opportunity to grow more quickly. It allows companies to invest in people and maintain a higher level of well-educated staff. When experienced employees work alongside apprentices, they can offer support and correct mistakes, but this works both ways if - something has changed in the industry - apprentices might be more aware of it and can pass that knowledge on. It also keeps a sense of youthful energy in the company, which can create a fun and dynamic work environment.
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