Below are some REAL portfolio entries made my previous apprentice students – you may find these helpful when determining the amount of detail your entries – they are not definite rather they give you an idea of how you COULD do it.
Remember you should be DESCRIBING each entry– you should also provide evidence (screen dumps, etc) to support these entries where appropriate.

Routine Tasks

Router Installation (Source: Gavin Hatton)

This is the main task that I undertake on a daily basis and as such have learnt a lot from the way in which the engineers I work with do it and why they do it that way. The first thing to do is to ensure that the customer is aware of our arrival, this entails a brief phone to call to them to inform them that I am on my way and what time I expect to arrive, it also gives the customer chance to explain and site specific health and safety or security procedures that I may need to be aware of upon arrival. I also ask if the equipment to be installed has been delivered, if not then the reason why needs to be assed and the installation rescheduled.

Once on site this task involves unpacking the delivered equipment and ensuring that all the required components are accounted for. After this and assessment of where the equipment is to be located has do be done. This is to ensure that the equipment is going to be safe, has adequate power and that all connections cables can be routed and fit easily. After the equipment has been physically installed the configuration needs to be checked, this is done by a remote team called the commissioning desk. I phone the commissioning desk and provide them with the main IP address of the router I’ve just installed. They then use this to dial in and check its configuration against a configuration that have.

Once they are satisfied that the router is ok they provide me with a slip number. This slip number is then used by the engineer to complete his time sheet, it is proof that he has been and done this job correctly.

The last task is to ensure everything is labelled so as to aid visiting engineers in the future. Items to be labelled are each ends of any interconnecting cables to identify where to go from/to and as well as any power connectors to identify the device it is powering. It is also common to label the installed equipment itself, as equipment racks can often contain several of the same devices.

Evidence

Below is a screen shot of job sheet taken from my archive for a Cisco router install.

Below is a photo of my self installing the equipment required for this job.

Non-Routine Tasks

Wireless Access Point Installation (Source: Matt Beech)

This is an occasional task which involves installing a number of wireless access points at the specified location on customers’ premises. This task entails fixing a base plate to the wall and the attaching the access point and aerials to the plate. The serial number is then noted down and handed to the network administrator so that they know which access point in located at what location. There are some variations on this such as different power and aerial types. This is not a routine task as the majority of the equipment I install is non-wireless router based.

As the wireless access points that I install are often on show, I am required to ensure that they are presented in a quality way and it is because of this I have an increased the quality of my work. This in turn increased my pride. I have also increased my level of awareness in terms of health and safety as the access points are sometimes installed when the customers’ site is still under construction.

There are few changes that can be brought into practice with this task but the main would be to have a larger number of engineers on site to install the access points. This would then mean that the installation would be completed during a shorter time scale as a larger workforce would be available for utilisation. This may mean that the project would not run as a profit for BT and may not be worth implementing.

Below, an email can be seen showing that I have been involved within wireless AP installation tasks. The email confirms that I have aided with the installation of forty at the time this email was sent and includes feedback on how these could be installed more efficiently.

Home IT Visits (Source: Lee Wolfe)

I have previously been involved with Home IT visits installing BT Home Hubs and setup of customers home PC’s hardware and installation of software. This is residential work rather than work in business premises which is what I normally get involved with. This type of work was a challenge as it involved a mix of residential telephone wiring (for the broadband) and PC skills. After working on large customer systems for a while it was a different challenge to then go to a residential customer, obviously the two have very different needs and different levels of customer training are required.

If I ever participated in this type of work again I would change the way in which I would train the customer on the installed equipment. With a business customer you can expect at least a basic level of knowledge with the equipment. However, with residential customers there may be no knowledge at all. This would require a change in the way that you approach the topic.

Working with others

Job Shadowing (Source: Jason Turrell)

Description

At present, my job requires me to work closely with others in all aspects of my job. On a daily basis I job shadow engineers as they go about their daily routines. They teach me how to complete they job they are tasked with and show me the correct procedures for that particular job. When I feel confident enough to try the job for myself, the engineer stays present and allows me to complete the job. This allows me to practise what I have been taught.

Employer Led Training

BT mandatory Computer Based Training (Source: Andy Lyle)

  • BT’s Values / code of practice – This course explained what “BT stands for”
  • Data protection
  • H & S (Fire safety, DSE, Compliance, Handling and Lifting)
  • BT security

These courses taught me about the internal policies that BT adopt. They are designed to ensure that I work in the correct manor when it comes to protecting my self in a health and safety point of view, as well as legal point of view. This includes BT’s data protection policy and the very important competition act that must be adhered to at all times or BT could end up being prosecuted if there was ever a breach.

The courses were completed as computer based training programs where there are presentations and videos that explain the different points of these policies. At the end of the courses there were quizzes that I had to pass. This showed that I fully understand the different, important aspects of these policies.

These courses often expire after a year and so normally have to be renewed annually.

I think that these courses could be designed better and perhaps presented in a short classroom scenario as I feel that they are extremely important and it is difficult to understand what something means on a computer based training program.

Below is an image of a sample of certificates for completed Computer based training courses.

Concepts, Tools and Techniques

Research (Source: Chris Nickson)

I was tasked to create a research report which would help me in the future. To do this I had to gain research on a specific subject. At first I found this quite had to do and then I managed to get the hang of it. B y completing this report I learnt lost about the subject that I was researching for my report but I also learnt how to pull relative information out of my research and talk about it in a report. I think that this skill will help me a lot in the future when I am tasked to writ research reports.

If I was to do this report again I would spend a lot more time on the writing of the report because the context that I wrote it in was informative rather than in the style of a report.

Hardware, Software Systems and Networks (Source: Laurie Gallagher)

Modules such as Hardware, Software Systems and Networks 1 and 2 gave me an understanding of all the different components that, when put together, create the entire network. Before I started this course, if anyone had asked me what Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was, I wouldn’t have had a clue but now, thanks to this course, I could discuss several different VoIP solutions such as Cisco Call Manager or Nortel IP switches. Although not very complex and technical skills, the course also helped me with small but important things such as knowing the importance of keeping my laptop organized to allow for faster, better and more effective work.