Education

Cybersecurity apprenticesehip: ‘I saw an ad an knew it was for me’

How I did it: Mark Flanagan is confident his apprenticeship will ‘open a lot of doors’

Mark Flanagan

Tue Sep 8 2020 - 00:00

“I always had an interest in IT but I didn’t have the best Leaving Cert and I found it hard to get my foot on the ladder to get the right job. I did a few IT courses but nothing much came of them and I was still unemployed afterwards.

"To get some income going, I did a catering tourism course in Kilrush in Co Clare through the Chamber of Commerce, which did lead to a job. I still wanted to do something in IT – but I kept putting it off.

"Then I saw an ad for this cybersecurity apprenticeship and I knew it was for me, so I moved from Clare to Kildare to do it. We started just before Christmas and, until lockdown, classes were held in Celbridge.

“Even if I had been offered an undergraduate college place, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it, but here I am paid for my work.

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“There are 14 of us on the course and there’s a split between classroom-based learning and on-the-job training, although the first six months are purely classroom based. After that it’s two days in class and three days in placement. I’m paid for my work. It’s a two-year long, level-five apprenticeship and very practical, so we will all get industry certification.

“On this course, we learn about IT fundamentals, computer networking and cybersecurity and analysis. So although I’ve only recently started, I will ultimately be working with clients who might wish to put online security systems in place, or migrate to the cloud or set up new payroll systems, and the job of a cybersecurity expert will be to ensure that they’re safe from hackers and cybercriminals, as well as ensuring that the software and systems work as they’re supposed to.

“With remote learning, it’s been so far, so good. I was nervous about how it would work but we are all doing online teaching and can do our work from home. I do miss the face-to-face interaction but, on the other hand, we are lucky that we can keep working from home.

“I feel this apprenticeship will open a lot of doors. I’d really like to get into digital forensics, while the company I’m with does a lot with cloud computing, which has also grabbed my attention. I’m confident that doors and opportunities are opening.”

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