The unconventional routes into technology
About
Tech on the Tyne was held on 13th March 2024 at One Strawberry Lane in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Jo McGovern - COO, Marra
Jo is COO of Marra which specialises in Power Platform. They were at an event where someone told their story about the beginning of their career, so they are sharing their story. They went back to their late teens, they are North East born and bred with parents from Sunderland and Newcastle, their dad was an engineer and their mum worked with special educational needs children, back then people had to work hard to get where they wanted to be. In they head they wanted to teach and had a place in university to do that but the idea of four more years of studying filled them with dread and they wanted to work, there weren't any apprenticeships but they decided to leave university and wrote hundreds of letters and started a job working on a main frame system.
They found a role later that was the start of their career in a technology business and understanding the back-office systems in a government department and then they worked with Anderson Consulting and saw an opportunity there. Their understanding of what the tech sector could offer began, they didn't appreciate what they were walking nto but it was the real deal with pin-stripe suits everywhere. Other than the wardrobe changes they came alive and worked hard, and they mean hard, they were like a sponge to take opportunities in the newly renamed Accenture and technology consultancy was something they wanted to understand better including the technology and skills needed.
They did realise quickly they didn't want to be technical, they didn't have the appetite to code or test or understand the architecture but worked with clients who wanted to see their ideas come to life and putting tech teams together with skills that complemented each other. They lead a lot of client projects over the years, and they were later given an opportunity about running a delivery centre and getting them to work it out, with a blank canvas of technology, business and people - the perfect combination. They build teams such as finance, training, hr, marketing and so much more and were in their element but something started to change and they realised they wanted to do something different, they wanted to learn from what they had done and what they would do differently.
Along came Marra, the epitome of the unconventional route into technology where their founder wanted to create technology jobs in the North East and they saw an opportunity for them there. They have worked there for three years building the culture and team along with what they want to be known for and want to seize every opportunity they can. Marra is creating roles in tech in an unconventional way, when they gave up University that was their first career opportunity even if they feel uncomfortable that can be where it can start, decide where the best opportunity is for you and take a seat, always be known for the right reasons and remember to always keep your brave pants nearby for the days that you need them.
Jamie Shields - Associate App Maker
Jamie is an associate app maker at Marra, what it means to be an app maker is a power platform developer who creates client solutions ranging in different levels of complexity and developing low code solutions in Power Platform.
Their timeline into tech, for a very long time they didn't know what they truly wanted to do, they did have an interest in performance and a passion for music and they got their first bass guitar and then they honed their skills and many years in customer service, they did pass a degree in music but they found at the end they weren't convinced that music was for them and they got into customer service.
They then decided to become a self-employed musician, they were told they would see so many things but that turned out to be the back of the van and service stations before going on stage, but despite this they had a successful career in the music industry and they played at Glastonbury and played in front of thousands of people in the Czech Republic, along with other festivals and touring. This did feel it was wearing them down and it wasn't fulfilling and had a physical and mental toll so decided to get into the tech industry.
They didn't know where they could start, but then came code which presented an opportunity, after they started to think about other options and met a veteran software tester who encouraged them into a role in tech and they dusted off their old laptop and started practising coding. They saved up money from touring with their band and then studying coding and software testing when they could, they got a lot of help from that person who helped give them more books. They heard about Marra a few days before a wedding and heard about an assessment centre where they went and later found they had got the role at Marra.
They discovered the role they were looking for, for the next six months after they started with Power Platform which allows access to data without needing a computer science degree and their experience as a customer support person to see problems from a different perspective and keep a level head and musician helped them manage problems and talk in front of other people. Power Platform has its challenges, but it gives accessibility to low code solutions and today they continue to learn where they have become part of the ministry of testing team. They still stand by the words that it isn't too late to start anything, and they haven't felt more settled since they started at Marra.
Breaking down barriers: Kickstart your Career in Tech - Alia Nabi - UK Designer, NEPO
Their team has created a marketplace for procurement and have taken a UX approach to enhance usability. They have only been at their role for over a year but are keen to share their experience and encourage and motivate people to apply for a role in tech.
In terms in what they studied at university was worlds apart from tech and UI design, they originally worked in Chemistry, they chose this because they had no idea but they were semi-good at it at school but through their second year they realised they didn't want to be in the academic world but they contemplated dropping out and did push through and graduate in the end.
When they graduated, they were none the wiser about what they wanted to do and became a sales executive at a magazine which is where they caught the creative bug about creating, exploring and delivering and pursue a career in marketing. They were told the journey from leaving school and landing your first job was a straightforward linear path, and for some it is, but for some it is more random but there's nothing wrong with that and shouldn't deter you from applying for a job.
During your linear career path, you'll gain skills you can take on such as user-centric approach, data-drive decisions, user research and testing, continuous improvement and shared tools can demonstrate landing a UX role. Harness the value of transferrable skills, you never stop learning - online training courses are a goldmine, network, network, network and don't disqualify yourself.
Louise Reed - Code Nation
Louise is from Reed and are based in the North East and work nationally with businesses all over, Reed bought a tech training company last year which was due to a lot of their customers and clients experiencing huge tech gaps and they build future talent programmes. They support career switches and career changes on behalf of their customers. SMEs and Enterprises are thinking differently about hiring tech talent, it is not just about degree but transferrable skills, and through Code Nation they deliver short, sharp training programmes to move them through their tech career in conjunction with their tech colleagues.
They can help moving colleagues from one department to another, roles that are seeing a decline on one sector are seeing challenges in other departments where they can upskill people to transfer over such as from customer support into more technology roles.
Panel Discussion - Jo McGovern, Jamie Shields, Alia Nabi & Louise Reed
The best way to get into UX is asking your current employers as many will have a team like that and you can upskill and put your hand in for jobs.
What courses would be recommended for a candidate depends on the discipline so can consolidate what that looks like, a good entry point is a data analyst is a good then can establish strengths and can look for level three and level four apprenticeships. If you're in an organisation many will have an apprenticeship levy which is money they have to spend, so you can speak to HR or finance and get yourself onto a tech apprenticeship as it is free for those organisations, it is a challenge so spend this. Digital bootcamps can help such as at Gateshead College which can also help with a first interview with an employer. Search for particular accreditations and look for people doing the roles you want.
Criteria to qualify for assessment centre for Marra there is no minimum qualifications, and they are looking for people from all sorts of situations, they had degree level people or people who had left school but there's no barriers to get a place. The day was super friendly and nerve wracking, but they were put at ease, it was about getting to know the people and why they wanted to be involved in this and there were group exercises and demonstrate people skills. Their desire to be in technology were there and many were shortlisted to be then offered roles.
Advice on someone without a job to break into tech and what skills are most in demand, the North East and globally there is an issue in tech and organisations are trying to look into what they need, the recruitment market is pretty dire. The job market is the worst it has been for many years but there are more temporary jobs than permanent jobs. You are better getting any job rather than doing nothing, companies are looking for people who can work and that can stand out on a CV. There's a lot of talk about cyber careers but this isn't reflected in the job market but there is investment within organisations, but organisations aren't recruiting for big cyber functions, there is a lot of noise so try and cut through it.
What opportunities are there for people more experienced in tech for those who are just getting started, there are opportunities to influence, support and mentor people who are starting out and helping inspire people to continue to learn. Reed also has a women in tech mentoring programme and there are thousands of mentees on that programme including male allies, it is a great way of giving back to the tech community.
Challenges are that you need to be able to move forward when you encounter them, important thing is resilience. When you come up against challenges in what you are using you have to be okay with making mistakes, have to be daring and brave about making them. It is okay to mess up and if have a fantastic team around you that can encourage this and if you don't have that then go out and find it. Never stop learning, always be curious to learn and do courses and go out there and do presenting or even just attend events and keep your eyes open all the time.
AI roles being the most vulnerable is that is not the case right now, low code doesn't need to be associated with low complexity, you can't just use natural language to build something. There is a lot more depth and complexity that can be managed by AI, it is not going to be handled in the same way as someone who can build something with AI.
Certificate providers can be more attractive, but it is so broad, but you can have a conversation with training providers and organisations to see what they are using. There's so much about repetition, not everything is going to be in a book or exam, you have to have that experience. Tech is moving so fast as you are better of getting a job and then get certified as if you do it first there is a risk of it going out of date.
How do you recommend talking to HR, is to ask if they are going to invest any money in you for learning and development. It will often be cheaper to upskill you than bring someone else in, if you think you can do some of another job spec then speak to HR about how you can get into that role, even if it is in a more junior role. It is far better to invest that recruit as there is more risk, upskilling an individual can also use the apprentice levy, so just talk to HR. If HR isn't accessible, then you can speak to your line manager or anyone who creates that same space you can speak to.
How do you network and get your first job if you have experience and certifications but still get rejected is to network, network and network. You attend as many networking events as you can, get yourself out there, what you are passionate about and interested in should be a story you can share when networking. Sometimes you might need to change the perceptions of what you are doing or what your job title is you just need to be able to articulate that to others and then you can see what other things you can do, build up your portfolio, it might not be a traditional tech job.
Advice to someone working full tine who isn't tech literate how would they learn, this is different for everyone, trying to fit something around a full-time job can be difficult, it comes to how committed are you and how much tine can you dedicate. It could be mentorship or workshops or anything that fits your lifestyle that builds your learning, but it is different for everyone.
What does networking look like to them is that it looks like a lot, sometimes painful but push yourself out of your comfort zone, most people are really nice and often you can get some really great conversations going.
The impact on AI on jobs and skills isn't a fad, it has gone from few things in an organisation and has gone into full flows and parts of processes, but it is not going away and most courses Reed have involves AI and it is also part of their courses for tech and non-tech teams on the use of AI. AI is here to stay and will see more industries using it and those roles with AI haven't been figured out but AI will not be able to make decisions but for transactional processes allow people to spend more time on better human led conversations at Reed.
Making personal projects to build something how do you find the motive for doing it, how do you find inspiration for the motive and objective. The inspiration for developing things is to think about what you are trying to achieve and what things and examples can you find that can help with this and will be vaguely parallel to what you want to do, but keep in mind your end goal. This can happen with clients not just with personal projects when they aren't sure if Power Platform is something they want and can work with them to guide them to what they need.
Graduate programmes can help beyond a degree or if work experience in a business environment is really critical whether in tech or not as organisation wants to see if you have really transferrable soft skills, you need to make yourself stand out and if lacking in work placement do as much as you can to build up relevant experience on your CV. How you bring your skills to life and how you can bring them to the tech world is really important, you can show what you're interested in as an individual along with how you communicate is hugely important. Show your enthusiasm, this can be poured into your CV or any conversations you have and show why you want something and what you are doing to get there. If being rejected from jobs ask for feedback and finding a job is a job in of itself so have a strategy and a plan, track the stages and why you didn't get to one and be organised about it.