Interviewing Teagan Collyer for National Apprenticeship Week

As part of National Apprenticeship Week, we spoke to Teagan Collyer, our Junior Cyber Security Consultant, who is doing a cyber security apprenticeship with Securious and studying Digital Technology and Solutions with the University of Plymouth.

Can you tell us about how your apprenticeship with Securious and uni studies fit together? 

I’m working as a Junior Cyber Security Consultant here at Securious as part of my apprenticeship, which is a varied role that involves supporting Cyber Essentials submissions and SOC monitoring, to name a couple. 

Then the apprenticeship feeds into the course I’m doing at the University of Plymouth, where I’m studying towards my degree. There’s a fair amount of overlap between the degree and the apprenticeship – they’re designed to work together. Though not everyone on my uni course is doing an apprenticeship – you don’t have to do both – it’s working well for me and definitely seems to make sense. 

Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship? 

I wanted to get some experience working in cyber security while studying at uni. I could have done the course at university and then found a job afterwards but that would have delayed everything. With this setup, I’m learning academically and progressing towards getting a degree, while gaining experience and being able to apply the things I’m learning in the real world in my job. 

It just seemed to make the most sense – this approach has sped everything up. I’m getting experience, I’m still learning and I’m earning as I do it. If I’d gone the more traditional route and not chosen to do an apprenticeship, I’d be graduating with more debt, no experience and at a more junior level than I’ll be working once I’ve completed my degree. 

Have you always wanted to work in cyber security? 

I always enjoyed IT and when I went to college, I discovered that I was also interested in computer networking, cyber security, and the hardware side of IT. I decided to pursue a career in computer networking and cyber security since it’s a fascinating and important field. Additionally, I’m expecting that demand in the industry will boost the likelihood of job stability and promising future opportunities.

What are you looking forward to in the future that’s been made possible by your apprenticeship?

I’m in the process of gaining my ISO 27001 Lead Auditor qualification with Securious, which I’m very excited about. This will mean I can support Securious’ clients with their ISO 27001 implementation and will also be a big step towards becoming a certified Cyber Essentials Assessor. That will allow me to do a lot more on the Cyber Essentials side of things, managing our clients’ submissions and helping them achieve the certification.

A comment from Darren Grey, Operations Director:

“Teagan has been a great addition to the Securious team and has fitted in from day one.  From the first week of working, Teagan has assisted in the delivery of penetration testing, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials.

The apprenticeship not only provides an opportunity for Teagan to advance his technical skills, but also to experience mentorship from the team and exposure in real world compliance challenges faced by our clients, whilst building rapport that Securious prides ourselves on. 

Securious sees the benefit that the scheme provides, not only for an apprentice, but also to enhance the strength of the Team via a defined pathway of training and education, alongside the collaboration of Plymouth University.”