Developing Me – Becoming an Applications Consultant

I joined Capgemini in September 2019 as part of a large cohort which consisted of around 50 fresh faced applicants. Before joining Capgemini, I held a wide range of roles, with the most recent being an administration position for one of Wales’ largest independent oil companies. While I was in this role I felt that I needed a change in direction, so I set out exploring different options that were available to me and that’s when I came across Capgemini’s Degree Apprenticeship.

I was excited and a bit nervous about the opportunity, excited because the apprenticeship gave me an achievable pathway into the IT industry, which is what I wanted, but nervous because of the prospect of going back to University. I had already graduated from what was the University of Glamorgan back in 2011 with a degree in Music Technology, but after many years of trying to find a role in the music industry, which included building my own recording studio, my passion faded. After I graduated, I said to myself “I am done with education” and after going through 13 years of school and straight into a three year degree, I don’t regret saying that, at the time I clearly felt that I needed a break from formal education. However, as I jump forward 10 years to 2021, I find myself back in education whilst at the same time working in a role that I would have never expected to be in 10 years ago, but a role that I know I always wanted to be in.

After successfully navigating my way through my ALE (Accelerated Learning Environment) which included the arrival of my first child – Margot, I was placed in a 3^rd Line Application Support team with a key government department. To begin with it was a bit of a slow start, having knowledge transfer sessions on some of the client’s legacy applications whilst waiting for the relevant user accounts to be created for me. This was a great opportunity for me to focus on my university work and start to learn about programming languages like C# and Java. It wasn’t long before I was asked if I would be interested in supporting some bespoke cloud native applications, for the client that focussed on .NET, Azure  SQL/C# driven databases. This was a great chance for me to develop my understanding of these new technologies, I was more than happy to get involved. From this I was able to gain my first certification in Azure Fundamentals, a course which covers the basics of the Azure platform, ideal for a beginner like myself. These two projects gave me valuable experience in Azure DevOps, which is a tool I was to become more familiar with in the coming months.

Whilst working towards my certification, I was introduced to another project based around Dynamics 365 and C# Web Apps. This was yet another new experience for me to learn a new technology so was more than happy to get involved. It was during this time that I saw many colleagues and friends going on furlough or seeing their work dramatically reduce. For me it was the complete opposite, my workload increased and as I was already working from home, I did not need to adjust to the new working model society had now been presented with. Using my new skills in Dynamics I was pulled into further projects within the account to provide 3^rd line support. This was a very challenging time for me having to quickly learn new skills to ensure these projects met crucial deadlines, whilst at the same time keeping on top of my university work and spending time with my family. I was exhausted but coming out the other side I feel that I learnt a great deal and I was pleased to find that at the end of my first year of university I had averaged a 1^st , everything was certainly going in the right direction.

Reflecting on my first 18 months in Capgemini, I feel that I have accomplished a massive amount both professionally and personally. On the last day of my induction week Jess, my fiancée and myself had successfully completed the purchase of our first home together and like I said previously, our first daughter arrived halfway through my ALE. We now have two children with the arrival of Edith in January this year and I’m looking forward to finally getting married in June. I have achieved great results in my university work whilst developing my skillset so that I am able to do my day to day work to the best of my ability.

I enjoyed participating in several opportunities outside of work which included raising over £250 for the Prince’s Trust in last years modified Place to Palace ride. I also  presented for the University of South Wales to promote Capgemini’s degree apprenticeship and I also took on the responsibility of being a Course Representative for our current year of degree apprentices. All of these opportunities would never have presented themselves if it wasn’t for the support of Capgemini. I’ll be forever grateful to the people who made the decision to hire me and my managers who do an amazing job of pushing me to learn and develop professionally and personally. This is the start of what I hope to be a long journey with Capgemini and I look forward in embracing any challenges that will come along the way.

Adam Quill

Applications Consultant

Adam is an Applications Consultant on the Degree Apprenticeship programme in the University of South Wales. In his spare time Adam enjoys the challenges of parenthood, playing rugby for his local team Tenby Utd RFC and trying to fit in practicing one of the many musical instruments he owns!