A Computing & Emerging Technologies student from Solihull College & University Centre is progressing to telecom giants BT to study a Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship in Cyber Security.
Coming to the end of his Level 3 course at the College, Saim Salman, 18, decided to apply for the apprenticeship vacancy on BT’s website and was shortlisted from a high number of applicants. Saim comments: “It was a challenging selection process and I felt nervous knowing there was strong competition. First, I was asked to record an interview answering questions, then the next stage was a full day of interviews and assessments. We were asked to explain what item is valuable to us and I said, ‘the screwdriver which I used to build my first computer’.”
Saim has been interested in computing since a young age and has a small business called Lime PC, building and selling computers.
He is full of praise of his course: “It is very fun and I really enjoy it, my tutors have been great in supporting me through applications and CVs. My favourite unit was ‘Controlling Systems’ – my tutor Neil Gavin brought in some massive robots such as drones which we’ve started to code and once we’ve done that, we’ll video it and put it in our assignment.”
The role Saim was initially offered was located in Manchester, but BT were so keen to have him on the team that they made the necessary adjustments to change the location to Birmingham. He adds: “I asked them how many people were offered the position and they said 7 in Birmingham and 3 in Manchester. It felt surreal to be one of the few selected out of thousands!”
Saim is a Distinction star student, whereby he has gained a distinction in all units of his course. Despite not getting the grades he wanted at GCSE, the bright and talented student has certainly excelled at the College. He says: “The course has prepared me for this new and exciting chapter in my career journey.”
The apprenticeship will begin in October and Saim is looking forward to working in BT’s new office.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time? Saim reveals: “In the future, I think GCHQ in Cheltenham is where I’d like to be.”
