On discovery to a career path for me
On the last sunny Friday afternoon of October 2017, a group of keen years 12 and 13 students from all over London made their way to an IBM corporate office, located in Central London for an Insight into IBM Day, hosted by uptree and IBM. Written by Teyah Davis, 17, The Green School.
Introduction to the day
The day began with a number of icebreaker activities, which helped us to get to know the group for the day, and gave us the opportunity to meet people with common interests and shared abilities. The majority of attendants had some interest in Technology, Economics or Business, and though not everyone wanted to go down the same career paths, everyone was able to learn some new, useful piece of information or skill that day.
Meeting Professionals
After the icebreakers, we were introduced to a number of employees, ranging from Apprentices to University Students on Placements, who shared their own experiences with IBM, including information on how they got to be working there, and why IBM was such an attractive company for them. Throughout these presentations and introductions, we were able to ask any questions we wanted about the company, including questions such as “What does IBM do?” and “What is the Apprenticeship Scheme like?”
We were inspired by the stories of the employees and their various journeys to IBM, which many students appreciated, since there was no one set route into a business such as this.
After watching a video regarding the many changes and developments in the role of IBM and the global presence it has acquired, we had the opportunity to discuss our thoughts and opinions on the changes and clear up any misconceptions we’d had about the company, learning more about the development of both IBM’s technology and its purpose.
Programmes on offer
After a break, we found out more information about the Future’s and Apprenticeship Schemes offered by IBM and the differences between the two and how to get there. We learned of the many successes of past participants in these programs and had the opportunity to find out, from first-hand accounts, what these programs looked like on a daily, weekly and yearly basis. We learned about the versatility of the company and the many opportunities to work in different areas of the business, even whilst being based in one particular area. We found out about degree apprenticeships, and the advantages of these compared to studying at university, however we also had an insight into the many benefits of studying at University and doing a year placement.
Once we had learned all we could about IBM and the variety of opportunities it offers, we all took part in a Speed Networking Activity, which allowed us to ask more personal or detailed questions to a variety of employees, getting some first-hand information about the different roles represented at the event.
We then heard from a Graphic Designer, who explained his career path into IBM and detailed the steps he took to get there, both specific to his job role and in a broader sense regarding working towards your dream job or career, and everyone left that talk with some piece of advice.
Assessment centre practise
We finished the exciting, action packed day with a series of group activities; the first being an Assessment Centre style activity in which we had to solve a logic problem by working together, the second being an innovation task in which we had to design and app to solve any problem we considered big enough to deserve and app.
The first activity proved a success for all 3 teams, from which we were able to learn about the varying styles of assessment centres and how to make a best impression during these assessments, including skills like teamwork, perseverance and communication. We also learned that in many cases, reaching the correct answer isn’t what’s important, but it’s about how you get there and ensuring everyone’s voice is heard in the process.
Team Work
The final activity put to work our creativity as we were given only 20 minutes to design a mobile application that could solve any problem we could think of. All 3 groups chose problems surrounding travel and transport, including an app that could help people find their lost belongings and an app that directed people on their most efficient route, taking into consideration real-time traffic. After presenting our application ideas to the panel of IBM employees, the winning team was rewarded with prizes and everyone received positive feedback on their presentation skills.
Overall, I found the event extremely informative and enjoyable, and I am very glad that I was given the chance to take part in such an amazing day. I learned new skills and found out so much about alternatives to University that I didn’t know existed before, and also how to access them. The whole day was a success, and I am very grateful for the opportunity. Many thanks to uptree, and IBM for hosting this exceptional afternoon.
Find out more about the school lever opportunities about IBM here.
