During the past few months, many people have had time to take a breath and consider their career options.
Those with an eye on the future can see the employment landscape is changing fast – and among the opportunities is a future in information communication technology (ICT).
Almost every large employer has an ICT department with roles such as IT support, system administrator and IT infrastructure specialists, to name a few. One popular job site currently lists almost 1000 ICT vacancies – so the demand for qualified people is clear.
However, moving from one career to another is rarely successful without relevant professional development – and there are a range of courses that can ease your path to a job in ICT, like those provided by Wellington ICT Graduate School.
It offers career conversion programmes open to graduates of any discipline, the courses are industry-led and students work on real-world projects with local tech businesses.
Lynda Turner, the school's director, says it works with both start-ups to more established names such as ANZ Bank, Datacom, software development firm Catalyst IT and website company Signify.
"They are not all large global organisations," she says. "That's a deliberate choice. It means our students get to work with a wide spectrum of companies. And they get to work, alongside our industry partners, on real projects. This year, even during alert level 4 lockdown, the companies kept our students on, working from home."
Turner says students, typically aged in their 20s and 30s, come from diverse backgrounds and gives the example of a veterinary nurse who switched to a career in software development after attending the school.
The school is part of the Victoria University of Wellington who are also promoting a Fees Free Trimester Two Scholarship for new domestic students who have been affected due to Covid-19. Courses are taught by the university's lecturers.
"We run professional development options, have industry guest speakers, a strong mentorship programme and industry networking opportunities," says Turner. "We create direct pathways from education to employment while building connections between tertiary education providers and high-tech firms."
The school offers five ICT programmes, three of which start in July and run for a year – the Master of Professional Business Analysis, the Master of Software Development, and the Master of User Experience Design:
- Master of Professional Business Analysis (MBusAn) helps people obtain skills in business and systems analysis, databases and analytics, management and information systems strategies to prepare students to solve complex business problems. MBusAn can be taken in either Auckland or Wellington, with the first trimester being delivered online due to COVID-19.
- Master of Software Development (MSwDev) is an intensive programme that covers core computer programming skills which can then be applied in real projects through internships in the last trimester. Key topics cover Java, data structures, version control, networking, databases, security, web systems, Agile, development methodologies, design patterns, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Turner says that "a lack of experience in the ICT sector shouldn't be seen as a deterrent. We can help students with that as the courses are entry-level – so you are not expected to know too much at the start."
The school also has a Master of Design Technology (MDT) programme which starts in March 2021 for those who aren't interested in the July 2020 offerings. This programme is designed to build upon 3D time-based media skills like visual effects (VFX), gaming, animation, and extended reality (XR) that were acquired in an undergraduate degree.
For more information and to enrol for the July 2020 intake see wellingtonict.ac.nz.