Sparta Global were invited to the first Young Adult Tech Foundation IT Conference. We were thrilled to meet so many talent and engaged young people with a flair for technology. Read below to discover more...
On Friday November 11, Sparta Global ventured to the Aga Khan Centre in Kings Cross to join the Young Adult Tech Foundation for their first IT conference event. Bringing together a number of ARK Academy schools and students passionate about IT learning and careers, the full-day event offered valuable insights into the reality of working in the digital space, the opportunities for progression, different tech career pathways, and interview workshops to help individuals secure roles in the future.
Alongside other IT employers, Sparta Global was invited to address the ARK Academy students. Two of our most experienced Senior Talent Coordinators – Christine Murphy and Alistair Marshall – led an interview workshop that provided attendees with tips and tricks, how to cope when faced with nerves, and introduced the STAR method for responding to interview questions.
The Young Adult Tech Foundation has been designed to engage young adults (16-18 years old) and introduce them to the endless career opportunities within the technology industry through a combination of presentations, placements, career days and conferences. The founders, Rose Syed and Richard Everitt, have joined forces to create a platform which will guarantee success for the future of the technology industry. With Rose’s experience as a Cloud Architect in both the public and private sector, and Richard’s 20 years working in the IT industry, the pair have built something quite remarkable.
We asked Rose and Richard why it is so important to give young people an opportunity to engage with diverse employers when they are still in school. Here’s what they had to say.
“Through our Foundation work we have come to realise how easily the IT industry can be misunderstood or dismissed by young adults, and how little exposure they have to a world that will dominate the job market as they come to enter it. Therefore, exposure is needed at an early age to prepare them for what is both inevitable but also their greatest route to success through a meaningful and enjoyable career. We also understand that not every young adult has a support mechanism around them guiding them to their future which is why being able run this conference with multiple industry leading partners has been so fantastic. It has allowed us to come together as an industry to not just show students what is possible but also where how can get started.”
Sparta Global was introduced to the foundation by Sparta Global Account Manager, Henry Oppon, who shared his thoughts with us on the importance of the foundation.
“It is important as industry insiders, that we encourage young people to acknowledge technology as a potential career path - especially those who may not have the social capital to access these opportunities. The Young Adult Tech Foundation is a brilliant way for young people from diverse backgrounds to gain exposure to a critical, dynamic, and lucrative industry, and I look forward to supporting the foundation as it continues its efforts.”
A big thank you to Richard Everitt and Rose Syed for organising a fantastic and insightful event, and extending the invite to Sparta Global to talk to their engaged community of future IT professionals.
Check out Young Adult Tech Foundation here.
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.