Application Support Apprentice in Denton

An exciting opportunity to join our Technology & Transformation Team as an Application Support Apprentice! With hands-on development opportunities, this role will support our nationwide business operations.

18-month Apprenticeship Programme

A Bit About Us

At Partou, childcare is more than just a job; it's a journey led by every child's unique path. As the largest childcare group in the Netherlands, we provide access to top-tier research, resources, and expertise. Our mission is to develop your skills and positively impact the next generation. Partou UK has grown rapidly, acquiring Just Childcare in June 2021 and All About Children in September 2022. With over 1,000 nursery branches worldwide and a team of 11,000 professionals, we cater to more than 75,000 children. We're committed to continuous improvement and growth, supported by significant investments in quality care and early years learning.

Why This Role Is Important to Us

Our core digital applications support everything from daily nursery operations to communication with families, compliance monitoring, reporting, and safeguarding processes. Ensuring these systems are well-maintained, secure, and optimised is essential to the smooth running of our nurseries and the safety of the data we hold. As an Application Support Apprentice, you'll help enhance and support our business-critical applications, assist in identifying and delivering improvements, and play a key role in strengthening system security. Your work will directly contribute to operational excellence and the protection of sensitive information across the organisation.

This role forms part of the growing Digital Product and Application Support function within the Technology & Transformation team. We are building a small but highly capable team that supports our core business applications across HR, Operations, Finance, and Nursery functions.

Reporting line

The Application Support Apprentice will report directly to the Product Specialist (Applications), working closely with them to triage issues, support configuration changes, and ensure consistent standards across our systems. The Product Specialist will provide day-to-day guidance, mentoring, and oversight to help the apprentice build confidence, develop technical skills, and progress through the apprenticeship programme.

What You'll Be Doing

• Helpdesk and Incident Management

• Provide friendly, helpful first-line support to users across the organisation for all third-party applications.
• Log, triage, and resolve routine application issues, escalating when needed.
• Raise and track second- and third-line support tickets with external vendors under guidance.
• Keep clear, accurate records of incidents and resolutions.

• Support regular audits of user accounts and permissions across core applications.
• Assist with starter, mover, and leaver processes to make sure access is set up correctly.
• Follow agreed processes to ensure access controls remain secure and compliant.

• Work with Product Managers to support small system updates, configuration changes, and application checks.
• Assist in basic testing of new features, fixes, or updates.
• Help maintain user guides, FAQs, and other documentation.
• Flag recurring issues or user trends to senior team members.

• Build positive working relationships with users, IT colleagues, Product Managers, and suppliers.
• Participate in team meetings, knowledge-sharing, and training opportunities.
• Develop your technical understanding of our applications and support processes over time.

How You'll Succeed – What Does Success Look Like?

Success in this role means contributing to the smooth operation and continuous improvement of our core applications. You will help ensure:

• Accurate and timely documentation of system updates and issues.
• Improved user experience through efficient troubleshooting and clear communication.
• Strong collaboration across departments to ensure technology supports operational goals.
• Enhanced system security through diligent monitoring and adherence to best practices.
• Consistent progress on apprenticeship learning milestones and practical development goals.

Your support will help the Digital Product team deliver reliable, secure, and well-maintained systems that our nurseries can depend on every day.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Experience in IT support, customer service, or an equivalent technical helpdesk environment (or a strong interest in starting a career in this area).
• Good problem-solving skills and a willingness to learn.
• Clear and confident communicator with users at all levels.
• Basic understanding of user access management or application administration (training will be provided).
• Comfortable working with external vendors and asking for help when needed.
• Organised, reliable, and able to manage your workload with support.

This role is subject to an enhanced DBS check. We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Partou is proud to be a part of the National Partnership in Early Learning and Childcare (NPELC) - a group of 10 of the largest childcare providers across England. Together, we operate over 1,300 childcare settings, employ more than 38,000 people, and take care of over 160,000 children.