Girls in ICT: Meet Olivia
In recognition of Girls in ICT Day, we wanted to introduce you to Olivia, who graduated from our Youth IT Careers program in 2015. The Youth IT Careers team recently had an update from Olivia about what she has been up to since graduating, and we thought it was a great opportunity to share her story about kick starting a career in the IT sector.
While Olivia was working part-time in hospitality, she was looking for a career path that grabbed her. Olivia had experienced some challenges finding employment, and when she came across Youth IT Careers the combination of study with the opportunity for a traineeship sparked her interest. She registered straight away and shortly began the ten week program delivered through a Melbourne based training organistion.
Image: Olivia (far right) graduating with her Youth IT Careers class.
After completing the program, Olivia was supported by Infoxchange to secure a traineeship with SEDA Group, an organisation that provides hands-on education and industry experience for high school students. They were looking to employ a young person to join the team and learn on the job. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for Olivia, who wanted to use the skills she had learned through Youth IT Careers while being supported into her role. After completing her traineeship, she was offered a position to stay on as a full-time ICT Client Support Technician.
This year Olivia is taking on another challenge - a double degree in Cyber Security and Criminology at Deakin University.
‘I feel honoured to be able to study and work in the IT industry, and I can proudly say Youth IT Careers has helped get where I am,’ Olivia says.
‘I found the program to be the greatest stepping stone to discovering my career direction.'
'It’s definitely made me more confident to get out there and apply myself. It was a very fun way to start a career in IT, as I made friends with the people in my class who I still hang out with to this day.’
When asked what advice she would give a young person considering joining Youth IT Careers and looking for a traineeship, Olivia says, ‘Jump into anything you feel you’re up for. Don’t restrict yourself!’
We wish Olivia all the best in her studies and work, and can’t wait to hear what new opportunity comes her way.
Become a Youth IT Careers business partner and support one of our graduates into a career in ICT.
Contact Andreas for more information or find out more about the Youth IT Careers program.