IT Support Technician — training, pay and apprenticeships

The route, drawn out

DWG 98DF · 5 stops · 1.5 years to qualify

Day one Start as an apprentice from £15.6k
Year 2 Training continues, pay rises min. £21.2k+
1.5 years Fully qualified around £25k
+3–5 years Experienced up to £40k
Then Level 4 network engineer or cyber security… next step

The first figures are legal minimums: the apprentice rate (£8.00/hr) and the National Minimum Wage for 18–20s and 21+ from April 2026, on a 37.5-hour week. Qualified and experienced pay are indicative UK ranges — most employers pay apprentices above the minimum.

What the job is

IT support is the widest door into the technology industry. You will handle tickets, build and deploy devices, manage accounts, and learn networks, cloud services and security by doing them.

Almost every organisation needs support staff, so vacancies are everywhere. Most people use it as a springboard: two years on a service desk plus a couple of certifications opens networking, cloud and cyber security roles.

A typical day

Log, triage and resolve support tickets to SLA
Build, configure and deploy laptops, phones and peripherals
Manage user accounts, permissions and password resets
Diagnose network, printer and application problems
Document fixes and maintain the knowledge base

How you get in

Usually 4-5 GCSEs grade 4 (C) or above including maths and English
Patience and clear communication — most of the job is explaining things
Curiosity about how systems fit together
A DBS check is common in schools and healthcare

Where it leads

Level 4 network engineer or cyber security technician
Vendor certifications (Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, AWS)
Second and third line support, then infrastructure engineer
Specialise in cloud, security or systems administration

Where to train for this

187 colleges and training providers on our list cover IT Support Technician training. Open your region to see them, then check current intakes with the provider directly.

East Midlands 8