My name’s Luca Jaworski, and I’m now an Apprentice Technical Engineer at Sharp, working towards becoming an Apprentice Cyber Security Engineer. I studied the T Level Digital Support Services course which lasted two years, at South Essex Colleges Group (SECG) at the Basildon Centre for Digital Technologies in Basildon town centre.

I liked the idea of studying for a T Level as it meant I could focus solely on the subject I was interested in, rather than picking up two other subjects alongside it for A Levels. T Levels allow you to choose one subject and achieve the equivalent of three A Levels for that one subject all through a single course. Whereas A Levels require you to complete three subjects and receive one A Level for each.

I chose SECG for my studies because I got the impression that all of the lecturers I had spoken to on the open days were very nice people and more importantly, teachers. I was also really keen on the technology they had to offer, from high-spec computers to physical networking equipment to test.

The best part of the T Level was the industry placement because while it was a nice change of atmosphere from the college one day a week, even more than that, it gave me some good insight on the working day I could expect to experience after college.

The balance of three days in college and a one-day industry placement was the perfect balance in my opinion. It gave me enough time to learn the content and skills in the classroom and then I could practice that in the placement.
I developed a range of different skills at SECG, from technical skills like networking basics to personal skills like teamwork. However, I think the biggest skill I gained was the ability to push myself out of my comfort zone and take risks. Ever since I left college, it has only done me good by taking risks and doing things I’m not comfortable with.

A typical day in the placement would consist of the following tasks:

• Building Windows devices from scratch, even fixing the devices hardware components prior if necessary
• Recycling old components and devices that aren’t suitable for use, while complying with Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
• Cleaning devices professionally so they are ready to be sent out to users
• Talking with customers and potential customers about the business and potential customers about the business and what they can offer

The device building prepared me for the time in a workplace where I would have to onboard new users, thus building them a new device. The recycling of old components got me into the habit of complying with legislation and laws when working in the IT industry. Talking to customers definitely gave me good practice in using the correct terminology when speaking to non-technical people and also increased my confidence a lot.

I’m currently working for Sharp, and my role involves a wide variation of different tasks. I manage the deployment of security products to our clients; I test new tools by simulating attacks and payloads and also help to improve processes and playbooks so the team can respond quickly and efficiently. Occasionally, I will respond to security alerts that have been escalated from a security operations centre or helpdesk.

Overall, my T Level has provided me with practical and technical skills, industry experience and most importantly, confidence in public speaking.

I feel more confident after having completed this T Level because it prepared me with the mandatory networking fundamental knowledge that I would then later build on in my career. I would say that if you are contemplating studying a T Level, it’s worth it if you’re curious about an industry and want real-world experience alongside the course.

T Levels are an important alternative because they are a great mix between academic studying and real-world work. Unlike A Levels, you’re exposed to workplace environments before your career, and unlike apprenticeships, you build up knowledge around the industry first. Overall, I’d say T Levels are the perfect choice for being as career ready as possible.

I feel that SECG supported my journey into employment because they were the initial connection between Sharp and I. Also, the lecturers there encouraged and convinced me to attend and ultimately go on to win the Power Platform Challenge competition, which ended up being the reason I was eventually employed by Sharp.

My career ambitions now consist of achieving more qualifications and certifications in Cyber Security, in the hope of advancing into more technical Cyber Security roles, more specifically red teaming.