Our first Degree Apprentice graduates!
We are so proud of Zahir Bobat, the first of our Degree Apprentices, as he graduates from Manchester Metropolitan University.
‘Zahir has been an asset to EPIX and has given more than we could have asked for in his role with us,’ explains Managing Director Mike Earl. ‘It’s been fantastic to see him thrive, both here and on his degree. He’s set the bar extremely high for everyone who follows, and also shown how valuable the apprenticeship scheme is – both for the student and the sponsoring company.’
Degree Apprenticeships allow undergraduates to work with an employer while they study – meaning they get a salary, work experience and a degree.
‘I’ve really enjoyed my time on my degree and combining it with working at EPIX has allowed me to quickly learn how to approach programming problems from a professional viewpoint.’ says Zahir. ‘It has helped me understand more complex issues than just those at university. I believe working at EPIX has prepared me for the future by allowing me to develop the skills that employers want.’
Zahir may have been our first apprentice but he’s definitely not our last. As Ian Mellor, our Technical Director, explains: ‘We really enjoyed having Zahir join the team in 2019 and could quickly see the benefits he brought. As a result, James and Jess joined us in 2020 and 2021. And we have two new apprentices, Madi and Patrick, due to start in September. It’s great to have young and enthusiastic people working with us and we’re proud to be able to help them at the start of their careers. We’re so pleased that Zahir has accepted a permanent position with us now that he’s finished his degree. Zahir’s role is to help with the development of our job management software, MARKUS, and he’s already growing into the position well.’
MARKUS helps businesses free up time that would previously have been spent on things like paperwork and staff management. Many of our clients use the time saved to grow their business:
‘MARKUS has allowed us to grow tenfold,’ explains Mark Jones, Director at TF Jones Property Services Ltd. ‘MARKUS is great for on-boarding new clients, it allows me to see where my workforce is in real-time, gives me full visibility of all costs, and the status of every job that we have on the go. MARKUS runs every aspect of my business and I don’t know where we would be without it.’
Our whole team loves seeing the difference MARKUS makes, as Ian explains: ‘We love seeing how MARKUS can help transform the businesses that use it, and I think this is something that Zahir appreciates too. Although, ultimately, we’re selling a product, we invest a lot of time building long-term relationships with our clients – that way they get the best out of our software and we get to work with them to develop any new features that might be required. Seeing our clients thrive gives us such a buzz and, having just celebrated 31 years in business we’re excited to see what the next 31 years hold.’
To learn more about the Graduate Apprentice scheme visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-and-degree-apprenticeships
Explore this website to learn more about how MARKUS could help your business. Alternatively call us on 0161 477 2343 for a friendly chat.
