Meet Aamena!

Aamena is currently a student at Bolton sixth-form college, undertaking a Triple Vocational BTEC in IT. As part of her course it’s compulsory she spends an allocated amount of time on placement with a company where she can develop her skills and gain real-world experience. Aamena’s kindly offered to answer questions on her time at ThinkEQ!

Tell us about the Triple Vocational BTEC IT course and the activities you’ve been tasked with

The Triple Vocational BTEC IT course is designed to give you lots of access to tasks that you could encounter in the real world, so it gives you hands-on access to projects you could work on in the future. My course had a number of units, some of which require you to create something to write about. For example, for one assignment, I had to design and create a website and then write about the process, functionality and expected user experience. For another unit, I was required to create social media posts for a specific company and had to assess the success of this content including engagement and reach.

What’s been the favourite aspect of your course?

The practical aspect of the course is what I have enjoyed the most. I enjoy being able to apply my theoretical knowledge to create things, and I also like that it means I can keep up with the latest digital trends.

How did you find out about ThinkEQ and our placements?

I visited the careers team at the beginning of the college year to ask for help finding work placements. I was given a couple of options for companies which had work placement opportunities, so I did my research and decided that I wanted to go with ThinkEQ as I felt it was more in line with my career interests.

What have you been working on during your ThinkEQ placement?

The main project I have been working on during my placement has been developing my own app. I decided to create a well-being and fitness app. I was able to gain experience in design, development and testing stages. I then presented the app to the team at the end of my placement.

I’ve also completed some testing for a couple of websites which ThinkEQ were developing for clients too, which was really interesting!

What’s the most valuable thing you have learned during your time at ThinkEQ?

Teamwork and collaboration- working as a team where everyone has different roles and responsibilities but contributes towards meeting the same goal. This showed me the importance of effective teamwork and collaboration.

How has your ThinkEQ experience been?

My experience has been extremely positive and valuable. I have learnt a lot of things, and the guys in the office are really helpful and friendly. I was able to talk about my work placement at interviews and assessment centres, which helped set me apart from other candidates.

You have now gained a degree apprenticeship at Fujitsu, can you tell us about your new role and what it will entail?

Starting in September, I will be a software testing degree apprentice. So I’ll be learning programming languages, testing software and communicating with clients to identify risks.

How did you get this position and what was the recruitment process like?

I applied online by sending in my CV and answering a few questions about myself. I completed an online assessment and was then invited to one of their virtual assessment days, where I was assessed on how I worked with others.

On this day, I was also required to do a presentation on why I wanted the role at Fujitsu. After this, I was given an invitation to an interview, after which I received the offer for the degree apprenticeship!

Would you recommend ThinkEQ as a work placement to other students in the future?

I would 100% recommend ThinkEQ to other students for completing their work placement. The team is so welcoming and accommodating, and the working environment is extremely flexible. But above all, they help teach you skills and experiences that are super valuable in the digital industry.

We’ve loved having you on the team Aamena and wish you the best of luck – you’re going to smash it!