Double win for Kainos
Kainos recognised as champion apprentice employers at the Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Awards
Kainos has won two awards at the nationwide Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Awards.
As well a being recognised as the Large Employer of the year, Software Engineer and Earn As You Learn graduate James Matchett received the coveted award for Higher Level Apprentice, recognising the best apprentice in any firm within Northern Ireland that year.
The Large Employer Award is designed to acknowledge excellence and originality in the delivery of apprenticeship training, and was awarded to Kainos in recognition of its pioneering Earn As You Learn scheme.
In conjunction with Ulster University, Kainos has been running the Earn As You Learn (EAYL) scheme since 2012 and has seen over 60 young people undertake the programme since its conception.
Apprentices enjoy an intensive 8 week training academy at the beginning of their journey dedicated to giving them the skills they need to start working on live projects. They then start an 18 month programme of development to improve their professional skills, business orientation and discipline-specific knowledge.
Alongside this on the job training, EAYL participants earn a degree in Computing Systems from Ulster University. Their tuition fees are paid in full and they also earn a competitive salary as well as enjoying all the other benefits Kainos has to offer, with a guaranteed job at the end of their course.
EAYL participants include James Matchett, the winner of the Higher Level Apprentice award. James is in the third year of a degree in Computing Systems and has been placed on the Executive Dean's list two years in a row, recognising his high level of academic achievement.
Like his EAYL peers, James has proven himself to be an invaluable asset to Kainos and the wider industry, using his spare time to produce and run workshops on programming, cyber-security and electronics for children and adults. He has also contributed to Kainos's outreach activities, including mentoring at Kainos CodeCamp in 2017.
James said: "The Earn As You Learn scheme is the perfect vehicle for me to develop my own skills and actively engage in the real workplace. Here, I know my work really matters and has an impact. I always want to give it my all, especially when I can help someone. No challenge is ever too big, I love every moment of it and wouldn't trade it for the world."
Learn more about the Kainos Earn As You Learn scheme and other offerings from the Kainos Academy