Ryan Davies

SharePoint Administrator

Entry route

Health Informatics Apprenticeship

How I got into the role

Whilst in school I always enjoyed IT lessons, it was always a lesson I looked forward to. When I was asked about going to University, I didn’t really know what degree I wanted to do, so decided instead to look at some apprenticeships in the subject I enjoyed most, which was IT. I applied for my apprenticeship online; searching IT Apprenticeships took me to the .GOV apprenticeship site where there was plenty of IT courses available.

I applied for about 3-4 before getting an interview for the NHS apprenticeship I went on to do. In college, I was taught basic IT skills, as well as the skills I would need to enter the workplace. My emotions when starting my work placement with NHS Informatics Merseyside included a mix of nerves, excitement and trepidation as to what to expect but I was soon reassured as everyone was so friendly and supportive.

The first role I worked in was within system support where I provided advice and guidance, resolving any day-to-day issues being experienced with the systems supported. I then worked within web development before working specifically on SharePoint, a web-based, collaborative platform that integrates with Microsoft Office.

What I do

On completing my apprenticeship, I returned to Informatics Merseyside working as a SharePoint Administrator. I have completed courses in HTML and CSS and I am currently learning jQuery and Java. As well as providing administrative SharePoint site support, I am now starting to develop sites within SharePoint and have recently supported a large migration project to move all existing SharePoint sites to a new web server. This experience has been a great leap forward for me in terms of my skills and confidence.

The best bits

I actually really enjoy what I do which is so important - I chose a subject that I enjoyed and I am now pursuing a career in it, learning and developing every day! When I started, I was a relatively shy and quiet individual, and I am amazed at how far I have come in such a short space of time.