Portsmouth IT firm Transalis praises apprentice for her resilience throughout the pandemic

The business IT services company, based in North End, has taken on five apprentices through Highbury College in three years and found that the apprenticeship programme has thrived despite the challenges of the pandemic.

Head of service delivery at Transalis Huw Davies said: ‘It was a brilliant illustration of how resilient the apprentices have been.

‘It was difficult enough for me having been in the industry for 15 years.

‘I can’t begin to imagine how difficult that was for the apprentices in their first role, but they’ve adapted and really excelled.’

Transalis are experts in cloud-based EDI software and specialises in connecting businesses and increasing their supply chain efficiencies.

With a dedicated employment services team, Highbury College has been able to put forward high-quality candidates that match Transalis’s needs.

One of their current apprentices is Chloe Boulton, 23, who joined the company in January and is completing an Infrastructure Technician Standard apprenticeship while supporting Transalis’s customers as a tech support analyst.

She said: ‘I enjoy being part of an IT work environment and gaining skills on the job while also being able to learn relevant IT knowledge on my college courses.

‘Transalis has supported me through my apprenticeship, and if I am ever unsure about anything they will always help me with it. My colleagues are very friendly and helpful, and I enjoy working there.

‘Apprenticeships are useful because they give you hands-on experience within a working environment and allow you to gain valuable skills and knowledge within your chosen field.’

Huw said: ‘The nature of what we do means we use a lot of bespoke software and so anybody joining us has got to upskill quite quickly.

‘Chloe has done an absolutely fantastic job with that, which is really good to see.

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‘She’s very confident and her standard of written communication with the customers is superb.

‘She still has a lot to learn but she’s keen to pick it up and understand where the gaps in her knowledge are and how she can improve and add value.’

Huw said there were many benefits to employing an apprentice, saying: ‘The enthusiasm I’ve seen and the desire to learn and prove themselves is absolutely brilliant.

‘It’s so refreshing to see. They’re very enthusiastic and hungry to learn and deliver back into the business.

‘With smaller organisations, like Transalis, I’d say absolutely engage with an apprenticeship because the candidates we’ve seen and interviewed have been consistently high quality.

‘They’re motivated, focused and they don’t want just a job, they’re coming to you for a career, and they just want an opportunity to prove themselves.’