Jack Northcote

Where could a Primary Goal apprenticeship take you? We love to hear how our apprentices’ careers develop. Meet Jack and hear, in his own words, how Primary Goal helped set him on his journey that now sees him working for a global advertising agency.

Jack finished his A-Levels in Film, Media and IT at Solihull Sixth Form College but didn’t know what to do next.

“I never had a plan, but wanted to climb the rungs of the corporate ladder within one of my relevant subjects. I searched a host of jobs and courses, and eventually decided to start a career in IT. However, there is often a pre-conception associated with the IT sector, that whilst being knowledgeable you have limited social skills. I believe my strongest strengths are my ability to present, communicate and articulate myself to people, so I wanted to prove that IT is so much more than just sitting behind a desk. This is why I took the decision to do a Level 3 Infrastructure Technician Apprenticeship, as I felt it would be the best way to gain hands-on experience within the real world.

Primary Goal gave him the platform from which to start and was the first Birmingham apprentice to be accepted onto Primary Goal’s programme.

“The ethos and values behind Primary Goal have inspired me to have a growth mindset and to keep improving. When Louise told me her story, I realised we have a similar background. Primary Goal equipped me with the necessary tools to do the job that I do today. The course was challenging but sitting here writing this now, I can say it was 100 per cent worth it.”

Jack started as an Apprentice Technician at Woodlands, a SEN School for pupils from nursery level through to sixth form. While there, he was able to develop tech further in the curriculum, as well as participate in many fascinating projects that further enhance the development of SEN pupils through the aid of ICT.

“I enjoyed being the point of call for troubleshooting and the knowledge base for technical solutions, as well as running training sessions for stakeholders. Once I had finished my apprenticeship I was offered a permanent position as IT Technician.”

Fast forward a few years and Jack is a part of a successful IT team that oversees UK wide locations for McCann Central – part of a worldwide advertising agency.

“I continue to learn from other people’s experiences, who are like-minded and passionate about not only IT, but the various fields of the McCann world. I am immensely grateful to everyone who has helped to mold my skillset and enabled me to feed off of their experience and knowledge.

I hope to continue training and learning, in order to further my career even more.”

Ollie Purdom, Chief Talent Officer at McCann Central, commented: “McCann Central employees over 500 people, in over 100 different job roles. As a creative agency, we pride ourselves on actively encouraging talent from different backgrounds, and those who have entered their career via a range of routes. We’re always looking for passionate employees who can offer something different, and recognise the value that diverse backgrounds bring to our business.

“Jack is just one example of the talented and capable employees who have joined us via an apprenticeship, and he has fast become a real asset to our team. I encourage any apprentices who are interested in working with us to visit our website to see our current vacancies. After all, our business certainly wouldn’t be the success that it is today if we always hired the same type of person from the same sort of place!”

We’re really grateful to Jack for letting us know how he’s getting on, he’s an inspiration to us all.