Everything Digital Tech and More

Hello there!

You are likely here because you attended the virtual workshop. It was great to have everyone be part of this session. I am indeed grateful you took time to come listen.

A RECAP OF THE SESSION

We “walked” away with a key message, building a career in digital tech is open to all, no matter your background. A chef  after significant  years of   making the best meals took the bold step and became a specialist within the space and so did a financial accountant.

A key step to achieving this is understanding yourself and your limitation. But more importantly the transferable skills you currently possess versus where you want to go.

Tosin mentioned  a framework  for  skills and competencies related to information and communication technologies, digital transformation and software engineering. Check it out here.

Everything is now done remotely (at least for the foreseeable future), so regardless of what part of the globe you are in, you can be a part of any group and tap into the knowledge base that exists therein.

Please see the link to the replay of the session here.

The roles

I found a link that details all the roles and what they do. You can read through and see what matches your current skillset and what you would likely to do within the Digital tech space. Link here

Skill Acquisition

There are a number of online platforms I would recommend to gain some classroom knowledge. I have used Coursera, Udemy and Edx. It can be quite lonely as it is a global platform. For more “intimate” opportunities consider the below:

Codebar Our goal is to enable underrepresented people to learn programming in a safe and collaborative environment and expand their career opportunities. To achieve this we run free regular workshops, regular one-off events and try to create opportunities for our students making technology and coding more accessible.

Gaining Experience

Try this method. Go on job sites and look up job roles and descriptions for the  career path you are interested in, look at the specific skills required and then join any of the groups below to acquire these skills working on projects for free.

Digital For Good.Uk Digital for Good is a community in Scotland enabling people from digital to contribute to the most important problems facing people and the planet. We join expertise from across the sector and work closely with non-profits in a network aligned for openness, action and impact.

Code4Covid The team’s mission is to find technology solutions to help people during the COVID-19 crisis: we believe that technology can minimise the disruption caused by the pandemic and ultimately save lives. To ensure energy gets directed to the right places and efforts are not duplicated, we are also collaborating with initiatives formed by other inspiring groups as part of the COVID-19 Tech Response.

Scottish Tech Army Our mission is to mobilise the Scottish tech community, applying the talents, creativity and commitment of its members to rapid delivery of solutions to the immediate and ongoing problems we face

Interface hooks up businesses with masters and PhD students doing research relevant to innovation in the particular field that business is working on. If you are student on a post grad study and research I thought it is a really important connection.

Other places to check out are:

Home

https://socialcoder.org/Home/Index

https://app.code4socialgood.org/

Online Communities

No man is an island plus sometimes the best of opportunities are never advertised. People simply share with those they know. I recommend joining groups

Use  Meet up to find groups that have the same interest as you within the same city as yourself.  I would advise joining at least 3. There is usually a variation of the same interest. Eg. Women in Tech, Non-Tech professionals in Tech, Technology for Good etc

Visit  Eventbrite to find meetings or conferences that are happening around you. When we could go outside I have used this a couple of time and found these events very insightful and informative. Now they are more online activities that are equally informative.

Consider being a part of Expat if you have just relocated. A very good way to meet new people. You might come across someone who knows that knows someone. Hopefully you get the jist.

This is for the women. I found Finding Ada a while back and got into their JP Morgan Mentoring program. It is now closed but I advise keeping an eye for new openings.

Support Programs

If you have just relocated to the UK, I would recommend working these people to prep you for your career journey. Some job opportunities are also released exclusively to them:

pRespect is Talent development and Career coaching service, that supports individuals to roadmap their career objectives. With practical support from CV creation, interview preparation, to aftercare once you are in work to ensure you have the skills and tools to progress towards your career goals and future growth.

AAI EmployAbility has designed a 6-week virtual support programme as part of their ‘Diversity Works’ project.The initiative is open to minority ethnic people from all walks of life to access tailored support in employment, finance and managing life at home, with resources delivered through online events and one-to-one coaching.The programme launches on a live Zoom event on 24 June – full details and sign-up here – https://buff.ly/2N7xHPe