BT
Garret Kavanagh
What do you do at BT?
I work in Managed Services. It’s a part of BT that provides IT services to our business customers. Our customers range from small businesses with a couple of devices, to large government or corporate customers with hundreds of sites worldwide and thousands of end users. We support all aspects - from the individual employees using their email to the large applications that allow our customers to do their business.
My role looks to provide the governance. That means I work to design the processes our people use in supporting our customers, and work closely with the teams to improve the processes. I am currently working with the operational teams delivering for a large government customer, leading the teams delivering the processes I designed.
What do you find challenging and rewarding about your job?
I work in operations and literally every day there is something new happening that really catches your attention. It can be challenging when something big has broken and the pressure is on to resolve it. I like working under pressure and the drive to get things done spurs me on.
The roles I work in all support something larger that our customers deliver. Whether that is the ambulance service or a system organising the most efficient use of the operating theatres in Northern Ireland, the activities done day in day out make things better for everyone.
What are the perks of the job?
- Money
- Holidays
- Home working
- Constantly changing part of BT
Where did you go to university?
Queen’s University, Belfast.
What did you study?
I studied for a Master’s in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
What was your route into a career in ICT?
I studied Electrical Engineering at Queen’s which was a technical degree and, when time came about to go through the milk round, I applied for technical roles to continue on from what I had studied in university.
I was offered a place on the BT graduate scheme and chose to take it over the other companies, as the scale of BT allowed me to be technical with the opportunity to try my hand at other non-technical things.
Once in BT. IT was chosen for me but it was a good fit. I’m always drawn to high-tech things but I would never have considered doing the roles I have and I like being involved in all the buzz around fixing things.
Do your skills ever come in handy outside of work?
I’m always asked to fix my friends and families PCs and gadgets. Having colleagues who are experts in all forms of technologies means you can lean on them and ask their advice. It makes it appear you know much more than you actually do!
What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you at work?
Probably the most surreal thing to happen to me at work was at a leadership event. Part of the development gave me the opportunity to attend Executive Stretch with the TA. We were given the opportunity to experience what it is like to be a soldier and learn leadership from a profession where good leadership is vital. It was definitely a once-in-a-life time event, allowing me to do things I never imagined I would do. Driving a tank is fun.
