Atos launches apprentice recruitment campaign as Scottish Apprentice Week kicks off

Atos, a leader in digital services, has today reaffirmed its commitment to increasing apprenticeship opportunities for over 17s each of whom will be offered a permanent position with the company from day one, and is anticipating a growth in apprentice recruitment over the next year.

The company is now actively recruiting new ICT apprentices, aged between 17-24 years old. Apprentices will be sourced from numerous locations throughout Scotland to work in the Glasgow, Livingston and Forres sites, with Atos actively approaching schools and colleges in their local business areas with details of the scheme.

Commenting on the apprenticeship scheme, Gavin Thomson, Senior Vice President for Atos in Scotland and Wales said: “Our apprenticeship programme gives bright and motivated 17-24 year olds an opportunity to get on the career ladder with a global company, working on exciting and varied projects.

“Atos is proud of our successful apprenticeship programmes throughout the UK and we are delighted to bring these roles to our sites in Scotland.

“We have uncovered some great talent with our current intake of apprentices and they are already bringing value to the business. We strongly believe our continued investment in the apprentice programme will deliver more benefits and opportunities to young people.”

The Atos Apprenticeship Scheme was first introduced in 2010 in response to a large ICT talent gap amongst 17-24 year olds and the company has significantly grown its annual intake of apprentices since then. Atos’ programme allows apprentices to build a career in IT using formal training and development programmes and a number of recognised qualifications, offering an alternative option to the more traditional University route.

Some of the training academies offered to apprentices as part of the programme teach specialist skills in areas such as cyber security and project management. Atos will be focussing effort on bridging the gender gap between the apprentices who apply this year by trying to encourage more women to join the organisation by being clear about the different roles on offer across the organisation.

Jane Williams, Atos HR director, said, “We are searching for the best and brightest apprentices to join our team. We have been proactive in contacting schools in our local business areas in Scotland, offering workshops and talks from our employees to teach young people about potential careers in technology. We are really excited to get new talent on board each year and at the minute we have 38 apprentices in Forres, 10 in Glasgow and 7 in Livingston which we hope to see increasing throughout the year. At the moment we get a lot more applications from young men than women, it would be good to see more young women apply.”

Ember Ellis, a cyber-security apprentice based in the Forres site said: “There are very few female apprentices in my team, but this hasn’t put me off – everyone in the team is so supportive and encouraging, I would definitely encourage other girls to apply. I have recognised that there are many options with an apprenticeship and have learnt a lot in my journey so far. It is a great opportunity to begin your career at a young age whilst earning a salary at the same time.”

The application process for apprenticeships at Atos is currently open, with start dates from June-October 2015. Visit uk.atos.net/apprentices for more details.

For further information please speak to:

Jackie McColl
0141 221 0707/ 0771 065 1973
jmccoll@3×1.com

Karen Halley
0141 221 0707/ 07841128150
khalley@3×1.com

About Atos

Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is a Global digital services leader with 2014 pro forma annual revenue of circa € 10 billion and 83,000 employees in 66 countries. Serving a global client base, the Group provides Consulting & Systems Integration services, Managed Services & BPO, Cloud operations, Big Data & Cyber-security solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry.

With its deep technology expertise and industry knowledge, the Group works with clients across different business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications, and Transportation.

Atos is focused on business technology that powers progress and helps organisations to create their firm of the future. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and is listed on the Euronext Paris market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, and Worldline