In this guest blog we hear from Julie Swinbank on Waterston’s journey as a TechUP Programme Partner
How has your organisation collaborated with TechUP?
Waterstons have been a programme partner of TechUP since 2019. Our representatives attend the Stakeholder Advisory Board’s meetings, the selection panels for upcoming learners and share knowledge throughout the course through blog posts, mentoring and delivering industry speaker sessions for TechUP learners.
We ran some of our ‘Avoiding an Udder Disaster’ sessions on cybersecurity awareness at a recent event and were thrilled to be able to offer an apprenticeship role at the end of the course in 2023. Furthermore, we have also attended other events such as the Click Start Celebration Event 2023 and Educate North 2024 Awards Night. Altogether, we have had over 15 staff members involved in supporting the programme.
How has working with TechUP benefited your organisation and your employees?
Waterstons’ values include social responsibility, meaning we try to help others whenever we can. Our culture embraces empowerment, innovation and collaboration and we are committed to increasing the diversity of our own workforce and the wider tech community. Working with TechUP allows us to do this and fits perfectly with our values, which is hugely rewarding and valuable to us.
Our employees have been able to have the hugely rewarding opportunity of mentoring TechUP learners which has been beneficial to both mentors and mentees.
Further, being able to present industry speaker sessions has allowed employees from a wide range of teams, many who may otherwise not have the chance, to be able to share their knowledge and experiences and connect with future colleagues in the tech industry.
What was your personal experience of mentoring TechUP learners like?
Mentoring with TechUP has been an incredibly rewarding experience. It has been wonderful to help individuals to realise their goals and support them in overcoming challenges. Personally, it has given me the opportunity to reflect on my own experiences and learn new perspectives.
How do you think TechUP and its collaboration with industry has benefitted the wider tech sector?
TechUP is very focused on meeting the needs of industry, our partnership is very genuine. We feed in information about skills gaps and the courses are targeted to meet those needs. TechUP provides the tech sector a chance to meet learners whose talents would otherwise not have been available to the sector without the programme and its ability to prepare and build the confidence of the learners for roles in the sector.
We are passionate about TechUP and the avenues it provides for learners to start careers in tech and the potential it offers for the tech industry to create a truly diverse workforce.
What would you say to other organisations that are considering becoming a programme partner?
Working as a partner of TechUP has many benefits, from networking opportunities to increasing your brand visibility. It can provide staff members with really rewarding opportunities, to mentor and teach the TechUP learners, in addition to engaging with a diverse and talented cohort of learners and potential collaborators and future employees.
