Trident
Trident is a work experience scheme that all Jersey secondary schools take part in. It is a unique opportunity to experience working life while still at school.
Nadia Williams – Codentia
Where did you work?
For my Trident work experience I had the pleasure of working at Codentia.
What did that company do?
Codentia mainly focuses on designing and building software, such as websites and applications, though they do branch out and are Advisors/ Consultants in certain fields, for example when it comes to emails they will advise and answer the majority of queries you or another person may have.
What did you learn?
Through my trident experience I had exercised and learned a handful of skills. The most useful skill I had learned and practised almost daily was presentation. I used this throughout the majority of my day, and still consider it heavily now, when writing code. This was to ensuring my co-workers were able to view and understand the code easily. I had also used this skill when looking at and testing websites given to us to edit or fix ensuring they aren’t confusing or hard get around and use.
What was your average day?
Normally, each day I would typically work on a website called Samurai Fitness, I’d put in simple forms tables, checkboxes etc so that they could be later be developed and worked on. Sometimes throughout the day I would also work and be introduced to other projects like Lynxie by my Co-workers and almost always there was humour to be shared with everyone, which would just make the day feel not as long and a lot less stressful.
How did you find your experience?
My experience working at Codentia was so much more than I expected. The mindset and attitude in the office was friendly but hardworking, after the first day I wasn’t really afraid of asking questions or seeing if I was needed for anything. I was shocked by the amount of respect I was given as I was treated like I was an adult and a member of their team instead of ‘another Trident student’. Everyone had treated me so well and didn’t hesitate to ask if I needed help, and to make sure I understood what I was being told, they would occasionally push me out of my comfort zone and ask me to do something independently for a few hours and see how I get on.
“Overall, all of these moments and experiences put together really made my Trident experience a moment to never forget, the skills I had a learned will benefit me for a lifetime and the enjoyment I had will be memorable for ages to come.”
Internship Programme
Some examples of graduate programmes.
Torin Mitchell – JT
What made you decide to apply for the programme?
When I was considering graduate opportunities in Jersey, I found JT to be one of the most interesting and unique companies in the Channel Islands. This is due to their wide international reach in some innovative fields, as well as the long standing on island reputation as the trusted Telco. I liked the idea of being able to dictate which projects I get involved with, and JT gave me the flexibility to pick and choose activities according to my interests.
What were the highlights and challenges?
The main highlight was having the opportunity to become interim portfolio manager in the IT department whilst our existing one was on sabbatical. It gave me a huge level of exposure across the business, as well as engagement and involvement with dozens of interesting projects across the company. I liked it so much that when our portfolio manager came back; I accepted a permanent position in IT!
Challenges have included being involvement in a huge programme to completely re-design our network (known as IMS) and also driving many of the points to ensure our GDPR compliance.
What would you suggest to someone thinking about applying for the programme?
I would recommend anyone starting to have an idea on what they want to specialize in. Expressing interest in one area can help any graduate excel in their career; and this scheme can be used as a great way to expose yourself to a huge range of projects. At the same time – try not to get too concentrated on one specific area; as being brittle is as impractical as cluelessness in any career!
If you do decide to go for JT as your graduate scheme – be prepared to be challenged and amazed.
Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years?
I would like to continue with Release Management for the meantime, but in 3-5 years I would aim to be in a more senior position in our Software Factory.
