2020 - a year in review

When we started the year planning our AI seminar in March, we couldn’t have predicted that six months down the line we would all be facing a lockdown, conducting apprentice interviews over the internet and organizing a remote awards ceremony for the first time in 13 years.

It has been a turbulent and unsettling year for all of us, but many of us have adapted, pivoted and changed the way we do business and communicate. As we near the end of 2020, we take stock of the ways we at the ITP have changed the way we deliver our services and communicate with members.

Here’s our year in review…

January

• We kicked off the year focusing on building our apprenticeship scheme and continuing the success of 2019.  

• We looked forward to our seminars and events culminating in our 13thannual awards in December.

• Apprenticeships Manager Charlotte Goodwill hosted her first and last apprenticeship assessment days face to face for Virtua, Arcom ICT and GeoNet – unaware that for the rest of the year, they would take place virtually.

February

• Our members visited BT Archives as part of our Insight visits which take delegates behind the scenes of iconic telecoms locations.

• We celebrated National Apprenticeship Week by sharing stories, updates and pictures of our apprentices in their roles. In particular, the team at Onwave told us what they loved most about their apprenticeships.

• Membership Development Manager Sue Langridge presented to Openreach trainee engineers on the benefits of membership and the ITP.

• We interviewed winner of our ITP Graduate of the Year, Lucy Doherty, to mark Women in Science Day.

• Entries opened for the 13thannual ITP Awards.

• Sue Langridge met students and alumni at the University of Salford to tell them more about the ITP and our work.  

• We published the results of our member survey which revealed:

  • The Journal is what you value the most about your membership (over 95% read it regularly), followed by professional development, seminars and Insight visits.

  • Almost half of you have attended our seminars at some stage whilst over 70% have attended Insight visits.

  • Over 60% would prefer to still receive The Journal as a hard-copy magazine as opposed to a digital version.

March

• Members visited Openstreet as part of our Insight visits and get a glimpse behind the scenes.

• Our apprentice Lauren Holloway made it to the finals of Intermediate Apprentice of the Year award at the School Leavers Awards 2020.

• We launched our new Cyber Security Apprenticeship to all employers.

• Lockdown began.  

April

• We published a free research paper examining if it is possible for automation to create opportunities for telecommunications engineers, and if their traditional role is being automated, written by Lucy Doherty from O2 and ITP’s Graduate of The Year 2019.

• Our members’ newsletter contained tips on working from home, homeschooling, and training.

May

• We published our longest ever newsletter in which we compiled all of the best free resources for looking after mental health, finances, physical health and resources to keep busy.

June

• The apprenticeship team recruit and onboard a Support Apprentice for Babble Cloud remotely.

July

• We held our first virtual seminar ‘AI – a disruptor technology, or a platform for innovation?’ in partnership with Telecom.tv with speakers from Nokia, Cisco and BT.

• The Chancellor announced that the government will incentivise businesses to hire young apprentices with a payment of £2,000. It also introduced a brand-new bonus to hire apprentices aged 25 and over, with a payment of £1,500.

• We teamed up with Mpirical and CPD on a ‘learning in telecoms’ industry survey.

August

• Members visited the BT Tower virtually as part of our Insight visits.

September

• Members visited Adastral Park on a virtual Insight tour.

• CEO Crissi Williams took part in Connected Britain moderating a debate on attracting a full fibre workforce and forming part of the panel discussing attracting the next generation to digital.

• We sent out a call for a volunteer to assist in giving advice on optimising the hearing experience over VOIP for people with hearing issues for ‘Ideas for Ears’. We were overwhelmed with the response from members who offered their time.

October

• We ran our first webinar ‘Outstanding people make outstanding organisations. Uncover your best self and how to unlock your potential’ which was free for members..

• Members visited BT Archives on a virtual tour.

• Charlotte Goodwill hosted virtual apprentice assessment days for Astro Communications and Milexia UK.

• The results of the Mpirical learning in telecoms survey is published and made available to all members.

November

• Members went on another virtual behind-the-scenes tour to Adastral Park Innovation Centre.

• The ITP Awards 2020 finalists were announced.

December

• We took our ITP Awards event online and honoured the industry virtually.

We know that 2021 is set to be another challenging year, and we have been working hard to improve our resources and benefits to you. We will be launching a brand new website in January which will make navigating simpler, and easier to access your member benefits.  We would like to wish all our members, partners and supporters a merry Christmas and a happy new year and thank you for all your support during 2020.