Inverness and Nairn employer Capgemini aims to expand local workforce by more than 200 by year's end
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International technology and consultancy company Capgemini is aiming to almost double the number of digital customer support staff it employs in the Highlands to meet growing demand.
The business, which employs staff in both Inverness and Nairn, plans to grow its digital customer service desk workforce in the region from 280 to 500 by the end of the year.
New recruits will also receive training to help meet the growing need for cyber security specialists across the UK, with 80 per cent of Capgemini's existing cybersecurity team holding specialist certifications such as SIEM (security information and event management), vulnerability management and threat intelligence.
Among the local staff who have taken advantage of these opportunities are Lewis Mitchell, who is originally from Elgin, but now lives in Tain, and Inverness man Gareth Reid.
Despite having a natural aptitude for technology from a young age, including learning basic coding, and achieving good grades in computer school, Mr Mitchell never considered IT as a career and began working as an industrial cleaner until he came across an advert from Capgemini offering apprenticeship and vendor certificates.
He joined the company in August 2014 as part of the SCQF level 6 IT Professionals apprenticeship programme. By 2016 he was an infrastructure engineer with the projects and consulting side of the business, travelling across the UK and Europe to work with multiple clients.
Mr Mitchell is now one of Capgemini's most successful cloud infrastructure engineers and leads the test and development infrastructure team for European banking clients.
Gareth Reid left school with no set career direction and took up a full-time job as a barista at a local coffee shop, but as a hobby would build computer systems from scratch.
When his mother sent his CV to Capgemini without hos knowledge, he was accepted as an IT service desk apprentice and 10 months later transitioned from providing basic frontline IT support via the call centre to joining the Highlands security operations centre team where he acquired important security skills. The hands-on apprenticeship teaching meant that he could learn and earn at the same time, and after taking up the opportunity of a second apprenticeship, he continued his career as a cybersecurity analyst, before going on to become a senior analyst, team leader, subject matter expert and most recently a security consultant in Capgemini's projects and consulting division.
A Capgemini spokesman said: "Lewis Mitchell and Gareth Reid are perfect examples of local Highlands residents whose careers were kickstarted thanks to the Capgemini apprenticeship programme."
