WorldSkills

By Shane Allum, IT technician at BT Operate and former BT apprentice

Recently I attended WorldSkills London 2011 at the ExCel in London. The event was the largest-ever international skills competition and careers event for young people. According to the organisers, more than 200,000 people turned up to this four-day event – making it one of the biggest shows ever at ExCel.

For the competition side of things, young people from more than 50 countries and regions took part to test their skills - everything from hairdressing and bricklaying to IT.

But it wasn’t just a skills competition. There were scores of employers there showcasing what they had to offer. That’s why I was there. I was on the BT ‘Have a Go’ stand with around 20 other apprentices talking to visitors about our technology and what it’s like to be an apprentice at BT.

It was really busy but great fun too. Visitors had the chance to try their hands at a whole range of technical tasks including fibre splicing, cable making, and haptics - the science of applying touch sensation and control to interaction with computer applications.

People were really interested in the technology. But they were also really interested in BT as a company.

For me, one of the best things was talking to students who weren’t too sure about what to do in the future. I told them about the BT apprenticeship scheme and how good it was - how you could ‘earn while you learn’.

A couple of people I spoke to said they were going to apply to be a BT apprentice. I hope they do. Being a BT apprentice gives you so many options and experiences.