A DEGREE apprenticeship at Wrexham Glyndwr University has given a software developer a fresh chance to get a qualification - while applying his skills in industry.

Martyn Price, from Woodchurch on the Wirral, began his BSc Cybersecurity course at Glyndwr in May.

He combines his studies with his role at RFIDdirect in Mold, which makes and distributes RFID tags for businesses across the globe.

Like all Glyndwr’s Degree Apprentices, Martyn combines his studies with a full-time job.

He said: “RFIDdirect is an interesting company - basically an RFID tag is sort of like a little transmitter which tells you “I’m here, and this is my role.’ You can then put that into a manufacturing environment – for example, a product moving through a production line.

“A good example of a company using them is Volkswagen in Germany – you can go on their website and specify a particular trim, stitching and seam and that can all be handled as the car passes along the production line thanks to the use of RFID.

“In the company, I work as a software developer in title, however, as often happens in IT, my role can cover everything relating to a computer from development, delivery of solutions, tech support, server administration and more.”

Frits van Calker, managing director of RFIDdirect, said: “As a company we appreciate the attitude of colleagues who want to develop themselves.

“The apprenticeship programme was offered to RFIDdirect and Martyn stepped into the opportunity.

“We allow him the time off work to study and follow his lectures, but get a lot in return from him, not only in enthusiasm - but also in additional knowledge and contacts. I recommend this scheme to any SME in the region.”

To find out more about Degree Apprenticeships at Wrexham Glyndwr University – and whether your company could be eligible - contact the university’s Enterprise team via email on enterprise@glyndwr.ac.uk.