Apprentice (1st Line Helpdesk)

IT Professional Services are a service business that prides itself on customer communications and exceeding their expectations regularly. We expect customers to be delighted with our service and want to ensure that we are meeting their needs and keeping them regularly informed at all times. This helps to ensure our business continues to grow and our customers are retained, happy and we are delivering against their requirements. ITPS holds three ISO awards in Quality Systems Management, IT Service Management and Information Security Management.

The 1st Line Apprentice Engineer will work within the End User Team, supporting the wider Operations department. This role is ideal for someone starting their career in IT who has a genuine interest in technology, problem-solving, and helping people. The apprentice role will provide first-line support to users by answering calls, logging incidents and service requests, troubleshooting common issues, and escalating where required. They will also support the team with event management activities from time to time, helping to monitor alerts and ensure issues are identified and handled effectively.

This apprentice role will be for 15 months initial contract and on successful completion of the apprenticeship programme, an option of permanent employment (subject to staffing requirements).

Core Responsibilities:

• Answer incoming support calls in a professional and helpful manner.
• Log, categorise and prioritise incidents and service requests accurately.
• Provide first-line fixes for common user issues.
• Follow agreed processes and knowledge articles to resolve tickets efficiently.
• Escalate issues to the appropriate team when a first-line fix is not possible.
• Keep users updated on the progress of their tickets.
• Assist with basic event management activities, including reviewing alerts.
• Maintain accurate records within the ticketing system.
• Support the End User Team with day-to-day operational tasks.
• Learn and develop technical knowledge through hands-on experience, training and mentoring.
• Deliver good customer service and represent the Operations department positively.
• Any other duties reasonably required by your line manager

• Educated to A-Level, T-Level standard or equivalent
• Age 18 or over.
• A keen interest in IT and technology.
• Willingness to learn and develop new technical skills.
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Confident speaking to users over the phone.
• A helpful, professional, and customer-focused attitude.
• Good attention to detail when logging and updating tickets.
• Ability to follow processes and instructions.
• Basic problem-solving skills.
• Reliable, punctual, and willing to work as part of a team.
• No previous IT support experience required.
• You must live within commutable distance of County Durham as this role
• requires you to be office based at least 3 days per week

Desirable:

• Basic understanding of computer hardware, including building, upgrading, or repairing devices.
• Basic understanding of installing and configuring operating systems.
• Familiarity with installing, updating, and removing common software applications.
• Awareness of how to identify and respond to virus or malware-infected
• devices.
• Ability to research technical issues and use online resources to help identify
• suitable solution

• A clearly defined training and progression plan
• 27 days annual leave
• Your birthday off work
• Annual pay reviews
• Hybrid/flexible working (3 days office/2 days home)
• Enhanced sick pay benefit (4 months full pay)
• Enhanced maternity leave benefit (4 months full pay)
• Enhanced paternity leave benefit (2 weeks full pay)
• Salary Sacrifice pension scheme match funded by the company up to 7%
• Salary sacrifice schemes - Cycle to Work, Tech & Home Scheme
• Electric Car Lease Scheme
• Perkbox membership and Costco card
• Fresh fruit, snacks, soft drinks and a commercial coffee machine provided

£18,000 for the first year of your apprentice, rising to national minimum wage for the remainder of the 15-month apprenticeship. First line role starting salary of £26,000.

We’re experts in solving complex business problems through intelligent and secure IT implementation that protects and transforms organisations, helping them to grow. We embrace innovation and drive change, bringing new ideas, new technologies and new ways of thinking as a trusted IT partner.

With 26 years of experience, we partner with companies across the public and private sector to deliver data centre, cyber security, cloud, data and analytics, network services and managed services solutions.

Our highly accredited and experienced engineering teams combined with our strategic relationships with partners such as Microsoft and Cisco, mean that our customers trust us to simplify the complexity of IT and deliver benefits that make them more agile, competitive and resilient. Our vision is a world in which technology makes lives easier, society fairer and our planet greener.

The role will operate Monday to Friday on a two-shift rotation, covering 07:00–15:30 and 10:30–19:00 as required.

37.5 hours per week with a one hour lunch break.