Aquarius IT Celebrates Employee Development During National Apprenticeship Week

As part of National Apprenticeship Week, Aquarius IT is highlighting the value of apprenticeships in supporting long-term skills development, career progression and continuous learning across the business.

Mark Johnston, Managing Director at Aquarius IT, said apprenticeships play a key role in developing both new and experienced team members: “For a number of years, we’ve actively supported and encouraged employees at all stages of their careers to take part in national apprenticeship programmes.

For experienced team members in particular, these programmes provide opportunities to build new skills, gain confidence and experience genuine personal growth.

Apprenticeships also directly benefit our business by strengthening expertise in areas such as cybersecurity, software development and data analysis. By investing in continuous development, we’re not only strengthening our internal capability – we’re also supporting our people to grow and thrive within the business.”

To mark National Apprenticeship Week, the company is sharing the stories of several team members, who are developing new skills through nationally recognised apprenticeship programmes, alongside their day-to-day roles.

Developing future software talent

Connor Haslam is nearing the end of his 18-month Level 3 Junior Developer Apprenticeship, combining formal learning with hands-on experience supported by the Aquarius development team in Birmingham.

Reflecting on his journey so far, Connor said: “Since starting my apprenticeship, my development skills have greatly improved. I’ve learned far more than just coding languages – I’ve gained an understanding of different development approaches, how they differ, and how they impact the development and project lifecycle.

I’ve also developed a deeper understanding of languages such as C#, how they are used in everyday software, and how they apply within our own systems. This knowledge has helped me in my day-to-day role, particularly when troubleshooting and identifying the causes of issues our customers may be experiencing.”

Connor originally chose the apprenticeship route to gain practical experience alongside his studies: “For me, the apprenticeship route provides support both in the workplace and via college, allowing me to gain valuable real-life experience while working towards an industry-recognised qualification. With support from the development and the wider team, I can continue to progress within the business and apply my new skills to improve the software we deliver.”

Strengthening cybersecurity expertise

Ian Hudson, Aquarius’s IT Technical Support Manager, has been with the company for over 10 years and is currently completing his first apprenticeship – the Level 4 Cyber Security Technologist – Engineer Apprenticeship.

Ian supports the Aquarius teams from the Lymm office, handling internal IT queries while also helping to ensure customer software and hardware queries are handled efficiently.

He said: “Since starting my apprenticeship, my perspective on cybersecurity has completely shifted. I’ve moved beyond simply understanding the risks to truly learning how vulnerabilities are exploited and how infiltrations occur.

This has significantly sharpened my professional awareness and given me much deeper insight into how we secure the business environment.”

Expanding data and analytical skills

Lloyd Jones, a Technical Support Engineer who has been with Aquarius for more than eight years, is nearing completion of an 18-month Level 4 Data Analyst Apprenticeship.

Alongside his technical support role, Lloyd contributes to Aquarius’ social media activity and acts as the company’s in-house photographer, while also running his own photography business outside of work.

Reflecting on the skills he has developed through the programme, Lloyd said: “Before starting my apprenticeship, I had very minimal knowledge of writing queries. Now, I’m able to take requests from team members across the business – whether that’s from Mark, our Managing Director, Subir in Sales, or Ian in Support – whenever we need analytics completed and presented in a clear visual output.

This can range from supporting the sales team ahead of client meetings, such as understanding the number of support calls and the average time taken to close cases, through to internal reporting, like tracking licence increases over a specific time period.

I took on this apprenticeship for the challenge of learning new skills that would benefit both the business and myself personally, and it has made me feel far more confident in my role. I’m proud to be bringing an additional skill to the team by providing analysis that helps support the business moving forward.”

Building cyber security capability

Aaron Murray, a member of Aquarius’ technical support team, joined the business in 2024 and is currently completing a Level 4 Cyber Security Technologist – Engineer Apprenticeship.

Aaron supports the Aquarius teams from the Lymm office, assisting with day-to-day technical queries while developing specialist knowledge in cyber security alongside his full-time role.

He said: “Over the past year, I’ve been completing my Cyber Security apprenticeship, starting with no prior knowledge of the field. At the beginning, everything was completely new to me, but through consistent learning and hands-on experience, I’ve gained a solid understanding of cyber security principles and practices.

This journey has helped me build confidence in my abilities and develop valuable technical skills. The apprenticeship has shown me how far I’ve come in a short time and has motivated me to continue developing within the field.”

About:

Aquarius IT provides a fully integrated, UK-developed software solution for managing all aspects of driver and vehicle compliance. With over 20 years of industry expertise, our award-winning solutions connect tachograph analysis, defect reporting, asset maintenance, and more – giving operators a single, powerful interface for processing, managing, analysing, and reporting on driver and fleet data. Designed for real-world use, our technology supports informed decision-making, reduces admin, and strengthens compliance across operations. With in-house development and expert UK-based support, we deliver more than software – we provide operators with a truly connected solution that turns data into business intelligence.

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