IT Cyber Security Apprentice

Summary

We are excited to be recruiting an IT Cyber Security Apprentice who will have the opportunity to work as part of the infrastructure team within the broader IT Department. You will assist the team in accordance with health and safety regulations and will be given an opportunity to gain skills alongside your apprenticeship qualification.

Annual wage: £21,840 a year
Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Training course: Cyber security technologist (2021) (level 4)
Hours: Monday to Friday, working hours TBC
35 hours a week
Possible start date: Thursday 9 January
Duration: 1 year 8 months
Positions available: 1

Work

As an apprentice, you’ll work at a company and get hands-on experience. You’ll gain new skills and work alongside experienced staff.

What you’ll do at work

We have 1 position available, in either Merseyside, Liverpool or Congleton, Cheshire.

Main responsibilities:

Monitor Security Alerts: Assist in monitoring security alerts and responding to potential threats, working with the infrastructure Team and Plus Dane partners
Incident Response: Participate in incident response activities, including identifying, analysing, and mitigating security incidents, working with the infrastructure Team and Plus Dane partners
Vulnerability Assessment: Conduct vulnerability assessments and assist in the implementation of remediation measures, working with the infrastructure Team and Plus Dane partners
Security Tools Management: Learn to use and manage various security tools and technologies
Support: Provide first line support on incidents and service requests over the telephone email, teams, in person and self-service portal and communicate updates on progress until resolution as needed by the business
Documentation: Maintain accurate and detailed documentation of security incidents, procedures, and policies
Administration: Complete general administrative tasks within the team such as managing inboxes, managing purchase orders and other administrative tasks within the service area
Training and Awareness: Participate in security awareness training and contribute to educating staff on security best practices. Collaborating with our in-house trainer

Where you’ll work

Atlantic Pavilion

Salt House Quay

Royal Albert Dock

Liverpool

L3 4AE

Training

An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. At least 20% of your working hours will be spent training or studying.

College or training organisation

QA LIMITED

Your training course

Cyber security technologist (2021) (level 4)

Equal to higher national certificate (HNC)

Course contents

Discover vulnerabilities in a system by using a mix of research and practical exploration
Analyse and evaluate security threats and hazards to a system or service or processes. Use relevant external source of threat intelligence or advice (e.g. National Cyber Security Centre) Combine different sources to create an enriched view of cyber threats and hazards
Research and investigate common attack techniques and relate these to normal and observed digital system behaviour and recommend how to defend against them. Interpret and demonstrate use of external source of vulnerabilities (e.g. OWASP, intelligence sharing initiatives, open source)
Undertake security risk assessments for simple systems without direct supervision and propose basic remediation advice in the context of the employer.
Source and analyse security cases and describe what threats, vulnerability or risks are mitigated and identify any residual areas of concern.
Analyse employer or customer requirements to derive security objectives and taking account of the threats and overall context develop a security case which sets out the proposed security measures in the context with reasoned justification
Identify and follow organisational policies and standards for information and cyber security and operate according to service level agreements or other defined performance targets.
Configure, deploy and use computer, digital network and cyber security technology.
Recommend improvements to the cyber security posture of an employer or customer based on research into future potential cyber threats and considering threat trends.
Write program code or scripts to meet a given design requirement in accordance with employers' coding standards
Identify cyber security threats relevant to a defined context
Accurately, objectively and concisely record and report the appropriate cyber security information, including in written reports within a structure or template provided.
Design, build, test and troubleshoot a network incorporating more than one subnet with static and dynamic routes, to a given design requirement without supervision. Provide evidence that the system meets the design requirement.
Analyse security requirements given (functional and non-functional security requirements that may be presented in a security case) against other design requirements (e.g. usability, cost, size, weight, power, heat, supportability etc.) for a given system or product. Identify conflicting requirements and propose, with reasoning, resolution through appropriate trade-offs.
Design and build, systems in accordance with a security case within broad but generally well-defined parameters. This should include selection and configuration of typical security hardware and software components. Provide evidence that the system has properly implemented the security controls required by the security case
Design systems employing encryption to meet defined security objectives. Develop and implement a plan for managing the associated encryption keys for the given scenario or system.
Use tools, techniques and processes to actively prevent breaches to digital system security.
Configure digital system monitoring and analysis tools (e.g. SIEM tools), taking account of threat & vulnerability intelligence, indicators of compromise.
Conduct cyber-risk assessments against an externally (market) recognised cyber security standard using a recognised risk assessment methodology.
Develop information security policies or processes to address a set of identified risks, for example from security audit recommendations.
Develop information security policies within a defined scope to take account of legislation and regulation relevant to cyber security.
Take an active part in a security audits against recognised cyber security standards, undertake gap analysis and make recommendations for remediation..
Develop plans for local business continuity for approval within defined governance arrangements for business continuity.
Assess security culture using a recognised approach.
Design and implement a simple ‘security awareness’ campaign to address a specific aspect of a security culture.
Develop plans for incident response for approval within defined governance arrangements for incident response.
Integrate and correlate information from various sources (including log files from different sources, digital system monitoring tools, Secure Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools, access control systems, physical security systems) and compare to known threat and vulnerability data to form a judgement based on evidence with reasoning that the anomaly represents a digital system security breach
Recognise anomalies in observed digital system data structures (including by inspection of network packet data structures) and digital system behaviours (including by inspection of protocol behaviours) and by inspection of log files and by investigation of alerts raised by automated tools including SIEM tools.
Undertake root cause analysis of events and make recommendations to reduce false positives and false negatives.
Manage local response to non-major incidents in accordance with a defined procedure.
Discover vulnerabilities in a system by using a mix of research and practical exploration
Analyse and evaluate security threats and hazards to a system or service or processes. Use relevant external source of threat intelligence or advice (e.g. National Cyber Security Centre) Combine different sources to create an enriched view of cyber threats and hazards
Research and investigate common attack techniques and relate these to normal and observed digital system behaviour and recommend how to defend against them. Interpret and demonstrate use of external source of vulnerabilities (e.g. OWASP, intelligence sharing initiatives, open source)
Undertake security risk assessments for simple systems without direct supervision and propose basic remediation advice in the context of the employer.
Source and analyse security cases and describe what threats, vulnerability or risks are mitigated and identify any residual areas of concern.
Analyse employer or customer requirements to derive security objectives and taking account of the threats and overall context develop a security case which sets out the proposed security measures in the context with reasoned justification
Identify and follow organisational policies and standards for information and cyber security and operate according to service level agreements or other defined performance targets.
Configure, deploy and use computer, digital network and cyber security technology.
Recommend improvements to the cyber security posture of an employer or customer based on research into future potential cyber threats and considering threat trends.
Write program code or scripts to meet a given design requirement in accordance with employers' coding standards
Identify cyber security threats relevant to a defined context
Accurately, objectively and concisely record and report the appropriate cyber security information, including in written reports within a structure or template provided.

Your training plan

Why choose our Cyber Defender & Responder Level 4 apprenticeship?

The Cyber Defender & Responder apprentice will use investigation techniques and analytics skills to defend against and respond to cyber incidents within the network environment.

QA's exclusive partnership with Circadence Corporation, the pioneer of the hands-on gamified learning platform Project Ares®, allows us to uniquely incorporate hands-on scenario training into our cyber security apprenticeships.

The Project Ares platform offers a totally immersive experience, using automated features to support skills adoption with an in-game advisor, Athena, who advises our players through scenario-based challenges. The platform scenarios replicate the unpredictability and escalating levels of complexity that cyberattacks can present. It drives high levels of engagement through leaderboards and badges, elements used widely in the gaming world.

QA’s Cyber Defender & Responder Level 4 apprenticeship programme enables the apprentice to:

Develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills in a safe, but realistic environment
Apply all of the acquired skills throughout the programme, with added scoring of players and opponent actions with replay for object assessment
Take part in hands-on training and active-learning models that increase retention rates by 75% so that cyber apprentices can prepare for real-world challenges

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE or equivalent in:

English (grade Grade 4 (C))
Maths (grade Grade 4 (C))
any subject (grade Level 3 A-Level or BTEC)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
IT skills
Attention to detail
Problem solving skills
Analytical skills
Team working
Non judgemental

About this company

Plus Dane Housing has a strong history of development, building a range of general needs, sheltered and extra care homes which have helped meet local need. We have also grown into an organisation with a track record in shared ownership, helping our customers to get on the property ladder in ways they may not otherwise be able to. However, our roots firmly remain in social housing. Supporting customers to access homes in our core neighbourhoods at an affordable price. We own over 13,500 homes across Cheshire and Merseyside, providing a home to over 30,000 customers. Alongside these homes, we also offer much needed support, advice and services to help customers live comfortably in their homes or to enrich their lives. Fulfilling our social purpose is something that has remained firm throughout our history. Plus Dane Housing is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We welcome apprenticeship applications from all ages, if you have just left education, returning from a career break, or looking for a new direction we would love to hear from you.  We reserve the right to close the advert prior to the listed closing date if sufficient quality applications have been received.

After this apprenticeship

90% of QA Apprentices secure permanent employment after finishing their apprenticeship.

Towards the end of your apprenticeship, you will be supported to apply and interview for full-time positions.

Benefits:

The annual leave year operates between 1st April and 31st March
Annual leave entitlement for full time employees is 35 days (245 hours) plus eight days (56 hours) bank holidays (Just to note, three of these days are used for our Christmas shutdown)
When you join, you'll be enrolled in Medicash, a health cash plan offering savings on dental care, optical care, prescriptions, specialist consultations, physiotherapy and even reiki!
We have a company pension scheme where we contribute 8% and our colleagues can contribute anything from 3% upwards.
Cycle-to-Work Scheme

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

QA LIMITED

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000285593.

Apply now

Closes in 4 days (Monday 25 November)

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After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.

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