Adam Whitehouse wants to see a nationally recognised apprenticeship standard created.
Some time ago a Digital Device Repair Technician Apprenticeship was muted and initially approved but it never came to fruition. Now Adam wants to see it set up and rolled out.
He says to get it off the ground the standard would need creating and the apprenticeship content developed but that would require around five key contributors backing – something he is keen to galvanize.
He made the call in a recent interview with the BBC Technology Editor Zoe Kleinman.
Read the article on the BBC website.
Adam explained: “Statistics show that there are around 71 million mobile phones in the UK alone and around 33 million cars on the roads. If our cars break down we get them fixed, fixing a mobile device should be the norm rather than the exception. It shouldn’t be a case of if your mobile breaks, you instantly think about getting a new one.
There needs to be the resources in place to make repairs a go to option – it’s better for a customer’s pocket and is certainly much better for the environment. There are around 600 apprenticeships operating in the UK including car mechanic ones, but there isn’t one for digital device repairs. If we want to keep technology alive for longer then that has to change.
As it stands there aren’t enough skilled technicians available to fit all the devices that need fixing. We’re doing all we can through our in-house Academy but going forward as the number of devices grows across the UK, the skills shortage will only increase, as their simply won’t be enough mobile device engineers to repair them. I want to change that and am calling for a National Digital Device Repair Technician Apprenticeship to be created,” he added.
The BBC were filming at TMT’s headquarters in Holditch Road recently to show the work the company does to help keep technology alive for longer including its Academy. The coverage was national and featured on-line, on the BBC’s tech programme Click as well as on its national TV bulletins and radio bulletins both locally and nationally.
TMT launched its own in-house Training Academy three years ago to upskill the next generation of mobile device technicians. So far 17 cohorts of the Academy have run and will continue to recruit and operate regularly. The academy follows Samsung’s repair and service training guidelines and involves a four-week intensive training course. It consists of everything from the theory involved to the processes required. If attendees successfully ‘graduate’ from the Academy, they are offered a role in TMT’s Repair Centre with opportunities to progress. So far nearly 60 job opportunities have been created. To find out more about the Academy please go to: Training Academy – TMT First Business