Ryan Taylor - apprenticeship case study 

I joined Invotra in October 2016, after completing my Level 3 extended diploma in IT systems and Software Development at college. When I was at school, IT was the one thing that really took my interest, and I decided quite early on that I should pursue a career related in IT, systems or development.

When I was at college, I did consider university and even filled out my UCAS forms in preparation. By the time I got to the end of that process though, I realised I just wasn’t feeling enthusiastic about it. I really wanted work experience and that was the deciding factor. There wasn’t much information available about apprenticeships when I was at college, so I decided to find out about them for myself.

After joining Invotra, I was open to going down a number of different routes. I already had my Level 3 diploma in IT and software development, so I decided to carry on to do a Level 4 Software Development apprenticeship, which I started in November 2016. It  was great; the style of learning really suited me and I learnt a lot. I was quite nervous when I first started and there were aspects of the course I found quite challenging, but Invotra were very supportive. I was flown to our Dublin office to receive one on one training from our CTO to help me complete my coursework. It was so valuable.

In 2016, I started working as a tester in Invotra’s QA team. I was responsible for testing the product on a daily basis, including new releases and functionality. All apprentices work in the testing team at some point, as it’s the best way to give you a good understanding of the product and it really helped me when I was completing my Level 4 course.

I moved from the QA team into the Live Services team as First Line Technical Support in April 2018. Shortly after this in June 2018, I completed my Level 4 Software Development apprenticeship. I enjoyed being in this role for about 6 months but I was given an opportunity in October to explore Project Management. I felt this really suited my skill set and would be a welcomed challenge, so I went for it. 

Not only this, but I made the decision to start a Chartered Management Degree, which you achieve by completing your levels 4,5 and 6 in Chartered Management. I expect to complete this in 2021 and will be really proud of myself when it comes to an end. 

Currently, my role is Junior Project Manager, still within the Live Services team. I now have several successful projects under my belt which has helped me grow and evolve in my career tremendously. 

My long term goal is to become a fully qualified Project Manager at Invotra and I hope to achieve this within the next year.