Sparta's Media Hub
August Spartan of the Month: George Poole
Coming from a non-technical background, George studied Project Design at University. After graduating, George discovered Sparta Global through an online search. Read his story below...
Coming from a non-technical background, George studied Project Design at University. After graduating, George discovered Sparta Global through an online search. Read his story below...
Congratulations! How does it feel to be named Spartan of the Month?
It’s nice to be recognised for the work I’m doing; it makes me feel valued as I’m making a worthwhile contribution to the team.
How did you discover Sparta Global and decide it was the right path for you?
I studied Project Design (BA) at the University of Derby. After graduating, I found Sparta Global through an online search for jobs in the tech industry. As I had no prior experience, I needed to have some form of training which is why I decided to apply. I applied at the start of 2021 for the manual software tester course and graduated a couple of months later.
How did you find your training, and how did the training prepare you for your role with a client?
The Academy required a lot of work, we had weekly milestones to achieve which helped us monitor our progress. The training provided me with the foundations required to join a client, this training was then consolidated and built upon, when I joined a global software company as an Implementation Consultant.
Tell us a bit about your day-to-day role as an Implementation consultant, how have you found your first tech role?
Usually, I’m testing different scenarios in the system I’ve setup to check for errors and ensure it is working correctly. I write lots of scripts and documentation to help new users try different testing phases and go-live. I find the role very interesting as I’m working with people I would never have met otherwise. Day to day, I’ll have different things that I need to complete for different people, so my days are constantly changing.
Are you enjoying working in the tech industry and do you feel you now have the passion and skill to carve a long-serving career in technology?
I think the Tech industry has so many different projects to work on so I’m glad I made it this far and have the experience to be involved in the many, different projects. I could see myself remaining in the tech industry as I believe having good tech skills, allows you to move into lots of career paths which is exciting!
Would you recommend Sparta to other graduates and if so – why?
I think going through Sparta is a good way to enter the tech industry without having any prior experience.
Natasha Fasanotti has always had an interest in technology, pursuing a degree in Computer Science to turn her passion into a career. But when it came to leaving university and picking a path - the options were overwhelming, unclear, and Natasha wanted to find an opportunity that could help her specialise in something that utilised her skills through and through. Joining Sparta Global in February this year, Natasha upskilled in test automation and is now an integral part of a mult-Spartan project team operating in the public sector.
When Ekaterina (Kat) McNeill began her Psychology studies at University, she wouldn’t have predicted a future working in Data and a successful career kickstart working in the public sector – but that’s exactly what Kat has achieved. In fact, her line manager told us how Kat got to grips with complex code with little to no documentation, worked out how to access data that was previously thought inaccessible, and modelled it through a workflow. Her skills have already made an impact on site and we can’t wait to see what Kat does next…
After initially forging a career in Mechanical Engineering, Bradley Woods found himself searching for an opportunity to change careers and pursue an interest in technology. With a firm determination to find training opportunities in DevOps, Bradley joined the Sparta Academy in early 2023 and quickly secured his first role working in the public sector. Nominated for Spartan of the Month for his “dedication and hard work” that have been “instrumental in the smooth execution of high-profile project”, we spoke to Bradley about his time in tech.