Member Article

razorblue celebrates National Apprenticeship Week by recognising its apprentices’ contributions

North-East headquartered managed IT service provider razorblue was launched in 2006 when 17-year-old Dan Kitchen, a technology enthusiast and self-taught infrastructure engineer, quit college after three months to pursue full-time employment.

The company continues to go from strength to strength, with a total of seven offices across the UK, and over 100 members of staff.

razorblue strongly believes in the value add through apprenticeships and continues to grow their team in this way. Currently razorblue employs 4 apprentices across various departments including technical and financial roles.

Dan commented: “We have always been very keen on investing in our staff so they can grow with us. As an organisation in one of the most dynamic industries, we have a duty to help nurture workers of the future.

“Speaking from my own experience, I have learnt everything I know through on the job experience, this has been invaluable in my own career and personal development, ultimately getting me to where I am today.

“Our apprentices have proved a real asset to razorblue and they are essential additions to our team”.

The theme of this year’s National Apprenticeship Week is “Build the Future” – encouraging everyone to consider how apprenticeships help individuals to build the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career.

A fitting theme for a company who believes in just that.

Luke Johns, Client Support Engineer at razorblue, joined as an apprentice in August 2020 to follow his dream of getting into IT.

He said: “A lot of my time is spent visiting sites, getting hands-on experience with the different technologies and speaking with our clients, I have already been exposed to so much across different departments.

“In just my first month with razorblue, I felt like I learned more than I did during my entire time at college. Of course, everyone is different, but if you are considering an apprenticeship, I would say go for it.”

Kieran Dunn, Onboarding Engineer at razorblue, joined as an apprentice five years ago and has seen his role grow and develop with the company.

He said: “I started my journey with razorblue as an apprentice Client Support Engineer and since then I have enjoyed a supervisor role and two managerial roles.

“I have learnt so much from gaining experience on the job as well as working towards industry recognised qualifications and would recommend apprenticeships to anyone; they are a great opportunity to learn and gain the valuable experiences employers are looking for. I have had so many career development opportunities with razorblue, I wouldn’t look back”

The firm has plans in place to add more apprentices to the team in the coming months, with technical positions to add to both their infrastructure and service desk teams. Keep an eye on the website for more information.

razorblue specialises in managed IT, security services, super-fast connectivity, cloud and hosting and business software solutions across a broad range of industries.

In 2020, razorblue acquired a new office space in Edinburgh which expanded reach into Scotland, bringing the total number of offices to seven including: Wynyard, Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds and London, following investing more than £600,000 in its new head office in Catterick earlier that year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Peachy Digital .