T Level was 'leap of faith that definitely paid off' after student graduate makes four-figured sale

Josh Jenkins – one of those students - completed 315 work placement hours with the Thirsk-based business, previously known as Brigantia, as part of his Digital Support & Security course and, after completing his two-year studies in the summer, had impressed so much that he was immediately offered a job as a Business Development Executive.

Within weeks of that new full-time role as part of Elovade’s Sales Team, Josh had secured a contract for the firm worth a significant four-figured sum and has been reported as “making big strides” for the company that is a specialist value-added distributor of cybersecurity and IT infrastructure solutions. 

It means Josh is applying a lot of the knowledge that he initially acquired in the classroom during the first year of his course and Elovade People & Culture Manager Amy Abba is delighted that the business made a commitment to become education partners with York College in 2024.

In fact, Elovade’s experience with Josh means they intend to continue offering placements to our T Level students on a regular basis in the future.   

She said: “The investment of time we made by offering the T Level placement has given us a very skilled, very engaging young colleague, who fits in perfectly with our culture. The biggest testament to how well the placement went is that Josh wanted to stay and work for us. 

“He has joined the Sales Team as a Business Development Executive and the feedback from his manager is that he's making big strides. There's a lot of cold calling involved and that takes some grit and a thick skin - to be able to get on the phone and take rejections for somebody of Josh’s age.

“Progressing into employment was one of the drivers for us doing T Level placements, because it's really important in my HR role that we're always thinking about where our talent comes from. I like to think strategically and four to five years ahead and the only way that you can build that future talent pipeline is to link in with colleges and educational facilities and get these people in to get that experience of the industry and the workplace and the first time we have done that has proven to be an absolute success story.

“As it was our first time, it was a leap of faith, but it’s one that’s definitely paid off and I want to keep that relationship with the college now. 

“Cybersecurity is a growing industry and we're going to need more people and, if we can tap into those people’s talents at a really, really young age by getting them in through the door early and helping them build their career from the ground up, that would make us extremely proud and I am proud of Josh.”

Having been firmly converted to the value of a T Level placement - for both student and business – Amy unsurprisingly champions the qualification and offers the following advice for any company pondering whether or not to follow suit.

“We had concerns about having enough work to give students and also around safeguarding, because they are young people, so that needs taking into account,” she pointed out. “They do need that extra level of supervision, which takes somebody away from their day-to-day job, and there is absolutely no point going into it if you don’t have the resource in place to give them the best possible placement experience and the value they need from it. 

“But, if all that’s in place, then look at what we've taken from it. We'd never done a work placement before and the feedback I’d give an employer thinking about offering a T Level placement is don't worry if you haven't thought out every scenario in terms of what might go right and what might go wrong, because it doesn't need to be perfect. 

“But it absolutely needs to be a collaborative experience, where both parties are getting what they need from it and where the student feels able to tell you what’s working and not working for them.” 

That alignment between the T Level syllabus and knowledge needed in the modern-day industry was also something that impressed Amy very quickly.

“Josh definitely brought a fresh perspective and applied all the knowledge that he'd learned at College,” she declared. “The industry is changing and businesses - big and small - are going to feel the impact of AI coming in and I know that, talking to Josh, he was studying that and the legislation that goes alongside it and that knowledge will be invaluable for the future. 

“Having someone that can really champion that knowledge helps us make sure that we're doing the right thing for our partners and vendors, because we work with businesses as big as Toshiba, but also one-man bands, where the impact can be very different.”

Along with the technical knowledge that Josh has been able to demonstrate, though, Amy has been equally impressed by how his interpersonal skills have evolved with the company – a benefit common to T Level placements across all the different qualification sectors.

“Josh was a bit quiet initially, but really came out of his shell very quickly,” she explained. “There’s always a level of nervousness, because everything that he was doing was new, but he had enough confidence to ask for support when needed, which aligns with our values, too. 

“He also made really good relationships very quickly within the Product Team and quickly acquired knowledge of the products, as well as a confidence to talk about them. During the placement, we also had work experience students come in and we knew we could ask Josh to give them little projects to present to him, so that he could then provide us with feedback on how they had performed.” 

Stressing the unique advantage opting for a T Level qualification at the age of 16 can give students in the eyes of employers, Amy added: “You can have people come in straight after university and they've got all the qualifications on paper, but no experience.

“This is definitely a growth industry with job opportunities, but I think the challenge for young people is often employers want experience before anything else and the T Level is a great way of them acquiring that. It also allows a business to see whether they are the right type of person you are looking for and that works both ways. 

“Even if a student doesn’t want to stay with you, though, it’s important that they’ve taken what they needed from the placement.”

Amy welcomed, too, the opportunity to apply a professional interview process to Elovade’s T Level placement recruitment process, increasing the likelihood of finding suitable candidates.  

“Josh came so well prepared for the interview,” she said. “Myself and the hiring managers were blown out of the water with his approach and maturity for a 16-year-old. 

“We threw him in the deep end a bit, too, by setting him the task of a little project presentation and he really engaged with the process and put thought into it. Going through the interview process allowed us to make sure that we were getting the right person for what we needed from a placement because I didn't want somebody coming in and just doing the photocopying and making coffee.

“From the get-go, we wanted to give him a really authentic experience of a workplace. We took two students from York College in the end and both had the right work ethic and mindset, which took a lot of the anxiety away from us.” 

Amy went on to stress how the company’s close working relationship with College helped allay any reservations, too.

“It’s great that you can lean on the college for support,” she enthused. “That communication line was a key factor for us in terms of making it a successful experience for both parties and removing barriers. 

“We had another placement student – Fraser – at the same time as Josh and he had to travel a significant distance here from Goole. We really wanted to offer him the placement, but the commute was a huge commitment and that was a concern, so we went back to the Placement Team and they were able to support his travel expenses. 

“Going forward, we want to continue our relationship with York College. We’ve just gone through a big rebranding period, so we couldn’t make that commitment this year, but we will be offering at least one more placement next year.” 

Understandably, Josh is equally as enthusiastic about the T Level as an educational model, with his experience of the qualification confirming to him that he made the right decision when considering his post-16 options after completing his GCSEs at Woldgate School in Pocklington.

He said: “What made the T Level so attractive to me was the placement and that opportunity to get experience in the industry, with the possible opportunity of going into an actual job at the end of it or giving you the experience that'll help you get into a job somewhere else. Also, the security side of the qualification was appealing, as it's a growing industry and, definitely, a good avenue to go down. 

“I did Computer Science at GCSE, which gave me some baseline knowledge and, then, the T Level expanded on that quite a bit.” 

The first year of Josh’s T Level studies were chiefly spent in the college classroom and, on the breadth of knowledge he acquired during those months, he said: “I enjoyed the hands-on learning we did. 

“We did a lot of work with Cisco Packet Tracer and that was really interesting. I also enjoyed just learning about some of the other roles in the industry, because it showed what different avenues you can go down. 

“It’s not just necessarily all about penetration testing. A lot of people become Security Analysts and, then, there’s obviously the sales side of things, which I’m doing now with Elovade.

“We learned about all the different security issues out there and the different ways you can tackle them. All of our teachers were also really good and, whenever we needed them, they were always there to help, especially with the Cisco Packet Tracer work, because that was quite difficult to start with.” 

Once he started his placement, one day a week, Josh then appreciated the relevance of what he had been taught on the course, along with adding other skills that you can only acquire in a workplace setting.

“At the start of my placement, the focus was on getting to grips with the products that Elovade offer and learning the issues that they solve for MSPs (Managed Service Providers),” he explained. “That related well to the course, because we’re learning all about those issues. 

“Going forward, the placement then became more sales focussed and I was properly integrated into the team. I started to gain knowledge of the company’s products, which helped me move into my role now. 

“The sales side wasn’t something I'd ever really thought of in terms of security. You tend to link it to penetration testing and hacking but, at Elovade, I’ve learned about how these solutions are provided to companies, through distribution and the sales processes.

“I found that I was really interested in that side of things. I never imagined myself getting on the phones and calling MSPs, but I’ve kept going and got more comfortable with it to the point I’m doing it every day now as my job and I recently got my first sale, which was a great feeling. 

“The course confirmed that I am interested in security and the placement definitely solidified that this is an industry I want to have a career in. Being in an office environment, you also learn how to act with people and build relationships.” 

With the industry evolving at a rapid pace, Josh is on a continuous learning curve and added: “The biggest thing I learnt on placement was probably that a hacker can get into an account without needing a password. 

“I learnt that quite early. They're able to use tokens to then log in on their own machine and get access maliciously. That opened my eyes to how far things have progressed.” 

Josh is now looking forward to his own personal progression with his employers.

“Elovade is a massive company that’s growing all the time, so I’d like to stay here for a good while, because there are a lot of opportunities and I like the team here and get on with everyone,” he enthused.

To learn more about our Digital Support & Security T Level course, click here 

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