Software Apprentice

**Level 4 Software Tester**:
**Company - Sentinel Partners**
**Full Address - Kingsway House, 40-41 Foregate Street, Worcester, WR1 1EE**
**Weekly Working Hours - 09:00am to 17:30pm**
**Salary - £18,000 PA**

**About the company**:
Sentinel Partners are data and systems integration specialists. We provide software solutions that can quickly and reliably bring information and understanding together from the various sources of data that an organisation holds. Among the many benefits are greater data sharing and true collaborative working among teams and partner organisations.

Sentinel’s systems work with any type of data but we specialise in the hardest data type of all, which are the records that identify people. We do this even with data that is of variable quality and completeness. We do this in robust and compliant ways.

If you have problems in making your data work for your organisation, then please talk to us. With our experience and products on board, we can help in more ways than you realise. We can transform your world.

**Brief job description**:
Estio Training have an exciting new opportunity for a Software Apprentice with Sentinel Partners, an IT company based in Worcester.

The role will involve supporting the rest of the team, developing the skills whilst taking on basic IT diagnostic and problem solving issues. The role provides the opportunity for the role holder to develop their IT skills, whilst increasing their knowledge of Sentinels products and client base

As a tester, you will be responsible for evaluating software functions and designing test protocols to ensure that products work as intended. You will also be responsible for completing all testing procedures, suggesting performance changes, and preparing performance reports for your colleagues.

**Your duties and responsibilities in this role will consist of**:

- Undertake simple tasks in developing client offering as instructed by more senior staff.
- Over time, help to configure our software (training will be given) to be able to receive and process client data.
- Help to match records within our solution, understanding the impacts that poor data quality can have on this.
- Produce user documentation (User Guides) to match the configured solutions.
- Support client testing and resolve test defects.

**Develop IT skills and knowledge to include a number of the following**:

- SQL
- Microsoft Azure
- Microsoft Power BI
- Understanding of JAVA, or other programming language
- Understanding of HTML5 or another Web technology
- Using the software as intended to analyse its functional properties.
- Designing manual and automated test procedures to evaluate each software product.
- Building, coding, and implementing software evaluation test programs.
- Running test programs to ensure that testing protocols evaluate the software correctly.
- Tweaking the software testing systems for maximum performance.
- Finalising and documenting testing procedures.
- Completing final tests and creating test reports.
- Presenting test reports to management and suggesting software fixes.

**Knowledge and Experience**

**Essential**:

- Computer literacy.
- Have knowledge of software design and engineering.
- A good eye for detail, and a natural gift for software troubleshooting.
- Able to identify flaws in software designs and suggest simple yet effective fixes.
- Knowledge of debugging codes and software development languages.

**Desirable**:

- Experience of databases.

**Qualifications**:

- 5 GCSEs grades A*-C/9-4 or equivalent (including English Language and Maths)

**Skills Required**:

- Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
- Customer Focused.
- Excellent Teamworking skills.
- The ability to follow set policies and procedures.

**Personal qualities**:

- Strong attention to detail.
- Ability to collate data and compile test reports.
- Excellent software troubleshooting skills.
- A desire to learn.
- Ability to work autonomously, as well as part of a team.
- Confident and Pro-active approach to work.
- To have an enthusiastic and positive outlook.
- Excellent work ethic.

**Future prospects**:
The role offers long term security and the opportunity to progress into a permanent position.

**Training to be provided**:
Estio apprenticeship training programmes are delivered virtually by our fully qualified and industry experienced training team. Using their expert knowledge, we’ve purposefully built our programmes around the real-world use of modern technology, so that the skills we create can be directly applied in the workplace.

Throughout the apprenticeship learners receive coaching, help and guidance from a dedicated team who are there to ensure they get the most from their work experience.

Successful completion of this apprenticeship gives you an accredited Level 4 Software Tester, with training in how to:

- Ensure that the software used within your business operates as intended.
- Design and prepare test plans and condu