Skyscape Cloud Services announces student placement programme for university undergraduates

Skyscape Cloud Services Limited has announced the launch of a new undergraduate placement programme for up to 10 outstanding students. The scheme, which is now open to sandwich degree students, has been designed to help develop the skills and experience that are needed when working with large-scale cloud and virtualised computing environments.

In order to help scale the Skyscape business to meet with growing demand, as well as nurture technology skills across multiple disciplines, up to ten roles for outstanding candidates in cloud operations and development – operations analysts, automation engineers and portal developers – have been created.

These positions offer successful applicants the opportunity to be part of a rapidly growing team of talented, experienced and passionate engineers that are developing one of the UK’s largest cloud computing platforms. With over 50 employees, Skyscape has experienced significant growth since it was formed in 2011. Last month saw Skyscape announce significant price reductions and service level improvements which it was only able to offer due to the significant economies of scale that its success to date has delivered.

In the first instance, the programme is being offered to university undergraduates as a sandwich placement, but successful candidates could be considered for longer term employment. As part of Skyscape’s dedication to training and development, there is also the opportunity for successful applications to take appropriate professional examinations in order to gain further qualifications in areas from key technology vendors VMware, EMC and Cisco. The company already has its first undergraduate, studying Computer Digital Forensics at Portsmouth University, joining Skyscape’s Operational Support team for a one-year placement.

“With the recent National Audit Office research revealing that there is a concerning skills shortage in the UK when it comes to information technology, we think that it’s extremely important to identify and develop the talent in this field, and give graduates an opportunity to work in a fast-paced, high-tech environment,” said Phil Dawson, CEO of Skyscape Cloud Services. “It’s an exciting time to join Skyscape as the company is growing extremely rapidly, and we’re really looking forward to welcoming bright undergraduates with an understanding and desire to learn more about cloud computing, and how these solutions can help to transform public sector IT procurement.”

Earlier this year, a report by The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee’s on Higher Education called for improvements in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) education to ensure that the UK has the highly-skilled population necessary to drive growth through education and high-tech industries, as set out in the Government’s Plan for Growth. To help develop these key skills, Skyscape’s programme will seek to demonstrate the opportunities available to undergraduates in the high-tech space, giving university students further training and development in preparation for a career in IT and technology.