Celebrating our first Ideal Academy graduation

Celebrating our first Ideal Academy graduation Since the Ideal Academy launched, just 4 months ago, around 25% of employees have taken up the opportunity. And we’re delighted to congratulate Samson Vaz – our first Ideal Academy graduate. Samson tells us:

“When they announced the Ideal Academy, it was perfect timing for me.

“I joined the Ideal Service Centre in November 2018 as a rookie 1st Line Engineer, with no prior experience in IT.

“At first, it was a real challenge – everything was new to me – but I quickly found that I really enjoyed the work. The role offered so many learning opportunities, and over time, I built a solid foundation of technical knowledge and hands-on experience.

“With that experience, I was able to earn several relevant certifications, which helped me progress to a 2nd Line Engineer position in April 2021.

“As I grew more confident in that role, I set my sights on the next step — becoming a 3rd Line Engineer. However, I found it difficult to dedicate the extra hours needed for additional study and development while managing a busy workload. I was also unsure of what else, beyond certifications, I needed to focus on to make that leap. As a result, I lost some direction for a while.

The Academy made the difference

“When the Ideal Academy launched, three things changed for me.

“Firstly, it laid out exactly what I would need to do to make 3rd Line Engineer. Not just the exams, but the soft skills and effective teamwork capabilities. That clarity really motivated me.

“Secondly, the Academy encourages you to find a mentor. I asked Aaron Tunnicliff, our Head of Presales and Engineering. Even though he was insanely busy, he accepted my request. Now I had a super-experienced person to guide and encourage me. That made all the difference.

“Finally, I got regular feedback from my line manager, Nic Lambert, and the rest of the team, on how I could improve, with everyone knowing what the goal was. For example, rather than just taking over an escalation and providing a fix, I realised I had to show my 1st Line colleague how to fix it. And then write it up as a Knowledge-based Article in our Halo system, so that everyone else could refer to it, if they came across a similar issue.

You need to have targets in your life

“If you want to grow as an individual, you need to have targets in your life. I’m delighted to have graduated as a 3rd Line Engineer, but I already have sight of what’s next.

“Project Engineering would be the next level for me. I’ve had a quick look in the Academy and it makes the next steps really clear. It may be a few years off, but when the time is right, I know I can push for that.

“Right now, I’m transitioning to 3rd Line and I’m really excited. I can’t thank Aaron and Nic enough for their support, along with the Senior Management Team. They were there by my side and I think that’s the biggest factor in this success for me.”