Darlington business continues to support North East tech talent with local training provider

For almost a decade, a Darlington based IT Support business have been investing in local talent by taking on apprentices.

Bondgate IT have worked closely with Newton Aycliffe based apprenticeship provider Baltic Training since 2010. In that time, they have helped 22 local young people to start their IT careers through apprenticeships.

Kevin McConnell, Sales Manager at Bondgate IT, explains why this long standing relationship works:

“We see apprenticeships as a way of recognising talent early. Some of our youngest people who have come into the business have been the ones who delivered the most change because of their mind-set. This has allowed us to grow as an organisation; I think the drive, fresh ideas and energy is well worth the risk.”

The valuable opportunities the two businesses have created together are helping to secure the next generation of IT Technicians in Darlington. In fact, some of the most senior engineers at Bondgate started out through the apprenticeship route.

“I think there are lots of young people in the local area who want to get into IT. Unfortunately, there aren’t a huge amount of options open to them, but apprenticeships open up a clear career path.”

Celebrating their 20^th birthday last year, Bondgate IT have enjoyed success across the UK and beyond, but the local area remains at the heart of everything they do.

Since starting out in 1998 as a computer shop on Darlington’s Bondgate, the business has evolved over the years into the customer focused and community-centric IT support company that they are today.

“We work with customers all over the UK and internationally, but I think the majority of our customer base will always stay in the North East because we have built a name for ourselves here. I think with IT, people like to know that the company they are dealing with are on their doorstep.”

Home-grown talent, skills and enthusiasm have been crucial to the success of the business. In order to tap into this, Bondgate have built up a solid relationship with Baltic’s Senior Business Development Manager, Scott Urwin, and have come to rely on them to deliver a strong pool of local apprentices:

“They have always understood our needs and helped us find the type of person we are looking for. We’ve built up a great longstanding relationship with Scott – we’ve been friends for quite a while now.”

Scott agrees:

“Bondgate are a fantastic example of an IT business using young talent to grow their company and give back to the community. We are happy to have developed a strong partnership that serves this purpose.”

Bondgate IT plan to keep expanding their business, with apprenticeships remaining a key part of this growth. Baltic Training are looking to the future of the North East’s emerging tech scene, and are excited to be building similar relationships with employers throughout the region.