Cameron from Belfast Metropolitan College and Fujitsu is part of the Squad UK Cyber Security team. Read on to discover how our training has improved both his technical and mindset skills.
Cameron McKnight was keen to join the world of work while still developing his skill set in cyber security. “I chose a cyber security apprenticeship to enhance my skills and knowledge in the IT sector, gain a better insight into the industry and secure a good starting salary. I also wanted to gain more qualifications and experience providing customer service and technical services to different customers in the IT field.”
With such an openness towards learning while working, Cameron was pleased when he heard about WorldSkills UK Competitions from his college tutor who enrolled him in the WorldSkills UK Cyber Security Competition. Making it through the National Qualifiers Cameron entered the National Finals in November 2019 which take place as part of WorldSkills UK LIVE at the NEC in Birmingham in front of thousands of visitors and where he won a Bronze Medal.
Talking about his experience of taking part Cameron says,
“It has been great. I have enjoyed the training which I have received as part of the training programme for my skill itself. Plus, I have managed to gain new skills and knowledge and faced new challenging situations in the process as well.”
The ability to face challenges and problem-solve is an essential part of competitions. So is the development and use of employability skills such as planning, time-management and resilience, which employers value highly, alongside technical skills such as how to configure a network.
Cameron feels his greatest obstacle is not actually the competition. “The biggest challenge has been finding the time to practice and train as I work full-time and study for other external exams. I always schedule time each week to train for WorldSkills UK Competitions.
“I feel great and proud to become part of Squad UK and have enjoyed all of the training I have undertaken so far and during the lockdown especially. I have been able to learn new technical or cyber security skills as well as key knowledge and this will all be relevant to my studies in the future.”
As a member of Squad UK Cameron is undergoing the skillset and mindset training that will help prepare him for a possible place in Team UK and the chance to represent Northern Ireland on the international stage.
David McGuigan Technical Services Manager at Fujitsu and Cameron’s Manager says:
“Cameron joined our team at the beginning of the year as an apprentice and has very quickly become an asset to the team and to Fujitsu. His continual quest for knowledge and experience has impressed both management and his fellow teammates. Training for and competing in WorldSkills UK has allowed him to develop quickly as a technical engineer. In his pursuit of experience he is not afraid to take on a challenge, demonstrated by taking a ‘driving’ role in a recent out-of-hours technical activity. Fujitsu fully supports Cameron as he progresses through WorldSkills competitions.”
