Ten 10 Solutions Limited |

We’re proud to offer people an exciting new career path through the Ten10 Academy, taking people who have never written a line of code before and training them into the next generation of consultants across the many specialisms of IT. Today we’d like you to meet Phoebe Rawlings. Phoebe studied Creative Music Production at the University of Huddersfield before joining us and is now working in Cyber Security:

How do you feel you’ve transitioned from the Ten10 Academy to your client work?

The training was fantastic. It really set me up for success going into my client work. The day-to-day running of the training: working as part of a team and working on smaller projects was really helpful with what I do every day.

What parts of the Ten10 Academy training have been most useful in your placement?

The Ten10 training was really good for getting an overview of lots of different parts of tech so even though my current role doesn’t necessarily relate to 100% of the training that I did, a lot of the soft skills and working as part of a team, speaking in front of large groups of people, those are the skills that have really helped me with my client.

Take us through your placement, where are you currently working?

I’m currently on my first placement, working in Cyber Security for an energy company. I’m part of a team that checks company systems for monitoring data systems, dealing with vulnerabilities and reporting potential threats to ensure everything in the system remains safe. Our work ensures that everyone both internally and externally can access information without the risk of it getting into the wrong hands. It has been absolutely amazing. I’ve been there for eight months and I’m really having a fantastic time.

My working day is lots of meetings, lots of emails, running reports, working on spreadsheets. My team in particular is quite small so a lot of the time it’s just me calling my manager and having conversations about our plan for the day. On my client site we use SAFE (scaled Agile) but we also use a lot of tech like JIRA and Confluence. For my role specifically, I use probability scanners and an awful lot of Excel.

What support have you received during your placement so far?

My client has been really good at offering extra training and extra support. They’ve been really encouraging about extra stuff I can do and what I can learn to make my role easier.

The Ten10 team are amazing. They are the kindest and most supportive people in the whole world. If I ever have any issues, whether related to HR or wellbeing or even anything to do with timesheets, they are there and they are just lovely.

Have you been given any extra opportunities through your client work?

My client has been really great with getting me down to their physical offices down in Glouchester which was great for me to meet the wider Cyber Security team and the IT department. My client also took me to Infosec last year which is a massive Cyber Security event at the ExCeL in London and it was amazing being to meet different companies and vendors, and speak to people with such a wealth of experience in the sector. It was a really great day out.

What advice do you have for people considering applying to the Ten10 Academy?

I would say go for it! It’s honestly one of the best things I’ve ever done and I’ve learned so much. I’m really, really grateful for Ten10.

A tech career is one that truly evolves over time. Consultants trained through the Ten10 Academy are placed into client environments where they learn from a range of different teams, gain experience with new coding languages, and sometimes work completely different positions across different industries!

Caprice Thompson is just one example: over her first two years with us she’s worked with clients in the Healthcare, Legal, and Media/Entertainment sectors, helping with them everything from automation frameworks to quality assurance and conducting demos for Product and UX teams. We spoke with Caprice to learn about her career transformation and the support she’s received along the way.

How do you feel you’ve transitioned from the Ten10 Academy to your client work?

I think I’ve transitioned quite smoothly. The Academy definitely helped bridge the gap between learning technical knowledge and applying it to real-life projects, which is always good because I was quite worried before I was going to be chucked into the deep end and having to code lots of stuff that I’m not sure about. But it was a gradual process. My manager helped me and we had lots of introductions to learn about the architecture and other things needed for the project. Everything was also completely new to me. I did do a Maths degree and Masters, but we didn’t do much coding on the course. It’s nothing like what I do now or what I did in the training.

Take us through your placement – what client teams have you worked with and what specific projects have you been responsible for during your placement?

Throughout my two years of work, I’ve had three clients. My first client was for a healthcare company and I was a Software Developer in Test. They didn’t have an automation framework at the time so we were responsible for making that from scratch for their web application. There were only three of us so it was quite a small team, but I enjoyed seeing that project go from almost nothing to where it was when I left. We were automating the front end and then we did some back-end, and then I was responsible for doing the scenarios and a full E2E testing.

For the client I am with now, I’m a QA engineer. l mainly do front-end testing but I will also do some manual testing and part of the writing test cases which I am really enjoying at the moment.

What parts of the Ten10 Academy training have been most useful in your placement?

I’d say the coding. During training, we had some practical exercises to code into a rock-paper-scissors program in Java and my first client used C#, so they’re both object-orientated languages. I still use that because now I’m using JavaScript and TypeScript. I think once you learn one language, everything kind of goes in place. Obviously, it’s still hard to learn the rest, but it makes it a lot easier to understand. I also think the most useful is the Agile methods that we learned because I use Agile every day with my current client.

What is a normal working day or week for you?

We start bright and early with a 9 AM stand-up. There are nine of us on the team and we discuss what we’re going to do that day and if there are any blockers as we work in two-week sprints. We do bi-weekly demos to Product and UX [teams] so that takes some time up too. Every day is different, so I might start with a plan of what I’m going to do, but then something else might come up and I might have to fix or test something so it just changes every day.

Have your role and/or responsibilities changed during your time on placement? How have you handled the change?

Definitely from when I first started. I was initially in another team and I was mainly doing automation work. Then I moved to a different team and now I’ve got more of a QA role. I do manual and automation testing, but now I’m part of the ‘four amigos’ process and writing test cases, going through the whole journey so I have a lot more responsibility. I know that soon my responsibilities will change again because we’ll be doing more integration testing and working closely with the developers so I think that’ll be quite interesting.

When I had the initial change, I was worried. I just thought “I’m in this team getting comfortable. Everything is good.” And then I got a message saying they were going to move me to another team. So I was nervous, but now with the new team I enjoy that just as much and they’re all really nice. I think you just have to be prepared for change and accept it, plus you’ll learn a lot more. You don’t want to be comfortable and stuck somewhere. You want to keep learning different things.

What technology, tools, frameworks, and processes have you gained experience with since starting client work?

Our code is TypeScript, our test framework is Cypress and we write that in Gherkin. We also use AWS GraphQL and Postman. For Agile and planning, we use Jira. There are a lot of tools that were different from my first placement so at least I now have a range because my first client was C# and Selenium now here it’s Typescript and Cypress. I think I prefer Cypress as it’s a lot simpler.

How has your client supported your development?

I’m supported really well. When I first started with my client, I was paired up with another person. We buddied up and she showed me the ropes on how she does things, what to look out for, and this went on for at least a couple of months or so and we are now really good friends. I can ask her anything. Before I started working on stories and tasks, I was given another ticket for a visual testing tool, just to get me up to date with how to use their processes, how their PRs are structured and things like that. It was good to get that experience before I started adding to their code base. I also still have fortnightly one-to-ones with the Test Lead, so he gives me a little development plan of what I need to work on, what’s going well and what they think I would benefit from.

What support have you received from Ten10 during your placement?
I’ve received a lot of support. They always have different initiatives throughout the year that you can get involved in and talk to the newer Academies. I recently did a Lunch and Learn on a visual testing tool which is what I worked on with my current client project. It was kind of giving back to Ten10 and showing them the knowledge I had gained. The Wellbeing Team is also really good. They’re always there if you have any questions related or unrelated to your project. And of course, there are always socials going on monthly so it’s nice to see how people in your cohort are doing and meeting other people. We’re all in the same field, so it’s great to talk to them and see what they’re doing.

The Ten10 Tech Academy is a perfect opportunity for promising talent to grow into well-rounded technologists, no matter what background they come from. Sandhyo Fernandes was a marketing communications student at university, before reverting back to his initial childhood desire to work in tech.

Before the Academy

“I was doing a master’s degree in marketing communications, and before that did an undergraduate degree in software engineering for business. I was looking for something like the Academy as I hadn’t touched anything computer-related for a while. I thought it would be good to get back to it with somebody to hold my hand.

“If you had asked me before university, I would have said I always knew I would do tech as a career because I always loved it. After my undergraduate degree I felt it was too intense and I had enough, so I wanted a break. After my marketing degree I felt I had forgotten everything about tech so the Academy was the perfect opportunity to help me. I grew up in Angola and there wasn’t much to see regarding tech. However, we had the internet so I could see all the new concepts of things coming out which I couldn’t use as it was too far away. I remember doing a career quiz and saying I wanted to own a company like Apple!”

Training at the Ten10 Academy

“At the start of the Academy, I felt I didn’t know anything, but the more I did I felt it coming back to me and everything made sense again. I guess some things just never leave you. The thing with the Academy is that they start from the basics and if they started with something difficult I would have felt lost. But step-by-step it really helped.

“The training was really good. To an extent, it felt like what I did at university but it added to how it would feel in the real professional world. University is all theoretical so it was hard to know what an employer would want or need. I knew what things were but not how they worked, and the Academy really made a difference in understanding this.

“I did the development training after the core training and it was great. It was the first bit of in-person training I did after COVID-19 and lockdown so I could go into the office and work with others. I learned a lot and although my client isn’t a development client, it still helped me understand their projects.”

Sandhyo’s Academy Training

Core training: January-March 2022
Core training modules:

• Introduction to the Academy – Overview of the Academy, assessment, and expectations
• Introduction to Agile – Agile manifesto, principles, and philosophy; a simulated practical Agile project
• Introduction to Enterprise IT – IT Architecture; CI; CD; Virtualisation; Cloud; Enterprise IT Roles
• Foundations of Web Technology – The Web (HTML, CSS, HTTP, protocols); APIs
• Data and Database Fundamentals – Data types; databases; relational databases; SQL; non-relational databases
• Development Fundamentals – Essential programming; version control; OO design principles; unit testing
• Foundations of Testing – Testing approaches, designs, and techniques; practical testing; performance engineering
• Foundations of Automation – Automated test techniques and approaches; Selenium WebDriver; intro to BDD
• DevOps – Living in the Pipeline – DevOps tooling; infrastructure automation; CI; CD; quality and reliability engineering
• Effective IT Professionals – Leadership; communication; self-awareness; self-development

Specialist training: Development – Internal project to migrate a web app from on-prem to AWS, Introduce automated build/test/deployment process in the AWS ecosystem

After the Academy

“I was about to start the most professional job I had ever been in. At the start, it was difficult as I was jumping into it and I felt worried everyone would be ahead of me. It was a bit scary but my client helped me and all the other new people settle in and learn the ropes. It was a lot of learning about their systems and how we can utilise our skills from the Academy. It is nice to not have to go to events or do work on my own as other people joined me from the Academy; it’s really comforting to know I won’t be by myself.

“I am currently doing quality assurance which is mostly manual testing. I have to check that nothing has been missed by the development team and I try to break whatever they have made. I make sure everything is how it should be and there are no bugs, so the business is satisfied with the work before it goes out to its customers.

“I feel like I have grown a lot from applying to the Academy to now. What I learned was incredibly valuable so I could start to work with my client, and what I’ve learned while with my client has also been great – to manage lots of systems that companies use. I want to keep learning more and although I feel I am good at my job right now, I know I can get better and keep growing. I keep in contact with the Academy tutors to see if I can do anything to improve myself. I have one-to-ones to see what certifications I can get, which both Ten10 and my client offer to provide financial help with. It is great to have that support from both sides.

“I would say to anyone considering the Academy to not be scared. It might look scary from the outside with tech, as it looks like a lot of complicated things and you think it won’t be for you, but it isn’t like that as much as you think. There are many things in tech you can be a part of, and if something isn’t for you, there will be something else in tech you will be comfortable in. Tech is a growing industry and it is great to have something like the Academy to get your foot in the door.”

Before the Academy

I wasn’t sure of what to expect before joining the Ten10 Academy. I’d always wanted a role in technology but I wasn’t exactly sure where I would excel or even if the Academy could deliver on what it promised. To say that I would be technically ready for a career in which I had no prior experience almost seemed like an overpromise! I took some time to prepare myself mentally by looking over the website, reviewing the modules, and improving my programming skills to make the first week less overwhelming.

Through this diary, I’ll document my journey through the Ten10 Academy covering what modules I learn and the technology I gain experience with. If you’re considering applying, my diary will give you a good understanding of what to expect when you join.

Core Training

Week 1
The first week has gone well. We were immersed in the Academy’s culture and expectations, met our instructors, and learned about the structure of the program. We also got to know everyone else within the cohort.

It was really good getting to know everyone and I even took some time to go into the London office and get acquainted with my Academy trainers and met some of the other departments of the firm. I think this was a good experience and would recommend if anyone can that they should take their time to do so to build a relationship with everyone that you can.

Week 2
Week 2 was really interesting. This week we had an introduction to Agile where we delved into the principles of Agile project management. We had sessions in breakout rooms to help us understand how Agile promotes collaboration and adaptability within the IT industry.

This was something I had never come across as well which was fascinating, especially the way I learned about different ways in which projects are managed. Some of the key methodologies we learned were: Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), Lean, Crystal, Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Feature-Driven Development (FDD), and Adaptive Software Development (ASD).

Week 3
This week was fascinating because we took some time to understand the business side of IT (Enterprise IT), including the different parts of IT which form the key components within larger organisations and different IT strategies.

We also learned a lot about governance and the role of IT in business, looking into SASS, and PASS, the analysis of these models, and their benefits to IT. We also carried out the role of a Business Analyst where we had to hold discussions with stakeholders and the development team to ensure stakeholder satisfaction.

We also had a look at the key components of Enterprise IT. This includes infrastructure, software systems, networks, security, data management, Cloud Computing, Collaboration tools and did a project on the utilisation of IT tools and building functional Architecture with Entity relation diagrams.

Week 4
This week we learned about the foundation of web development technology. We went through a mock site and experimented with the CSS using CSS Flexbox. I had experience in web development before the Academy and our first project was to make a web page using the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript knowledge we had learned. I decided to make a consultancy landing page for one of my cohort members. I was sceptical that I could make anything at this stage but I enjoyed how fun and creative this part of web development was and being able to see something that I coded come alive was amazing.

Week 5
New week, new technologies. This week we delved into databases with a new trainer. We came across various technologies and utilised SQLite studio. We talked about database performance, entity diagrams, indexes, locking, many-to-many diagrams, non-relational databases, SCHEMES, SQL joins, and statistics.

We had two projects to develop our skills: one with a hospital database (patient data) and one where we were given a restaurant database (customer booking data). I had heard databases could be daunting but after my training, I enjoyed working with them and understanding how the databases were formed. What stood out to me was how simple the syntax was for the SQL queries and the logical process of creating database schemas.

Week 6
During this week we delved deeper into the fundamentals of development, looking at programming languages, algorithms, and data structures. We learned more about Java, especially how it is used in test-driven development (TDD). The hands-on coding was very challenging but I had a lot of support from my instructors and guidance. We built small-scale applications and worked our way up to full object-oriented programming (OOP) models.

Week 7
This week we took a step back to understand what testing was and how we can change our mindset to think like a tester. Before this I only understood TDD but did not realise how much testing encompasses. We learned about the different forms of testing: unit, integration, system, acceptance, regression, performance, security, usability, compatibility, exploratory, alpha, beta, and ad-hoc testing.

Week 8
In our final week, we focused on the automation of test processes using Selenium WebDriver. This showed me how technology can be used to streamline repetitive tasks and enhance efficiency. Our project was a website in which we had to test its features and user experience utilising automation using query selectors. This enhanced my programming skills and set the tone for the specialist development training.

To be placed into the development training, we had to carry out another software engineering project: creating a game of rock paper scissors from scratch. I enjoyed this as we were told to be creative with the project so I created a turn-based RPG game with multiple features containing graphic text and a scoring system.

Specialist Training: Development

I was put forward for the extended development training being assessed on my final coding project. This was different to the core training as I had to travel down to Bristol where I was relocated into a house with my fellow cohort members who were completing the same training.

The training was intense. I was thrown into learning new languages on the go with new projects and we went more in-depth with our development skills.

Week 1
Our first week covered TDD and idiomatic Java. We built an application using the TDD approach to programming where we create unit tests, watch the test fail, write the code, let the test pass, and then refactor. This is a very efficient way for developers to build and scale code as it creates less buggy code in the long run with better risk management and code quality. We used this approach to recreate the rock paper scissors project in Java via Intellij and OOP. I realised this method of programming was very efficient when it came to building applications at scale.

Week 2
In the second week we were introduced to RESTful API and web frameworks with Spring Boot with Thymeleaf. We built a Java project that takes JSON Data from a website and allows us to express the dates of bank holidays. The goal was to write a programme using OOP called BankHolidayChecker to find out what the next five bank holidays would be. This was enjoyable as it showed me how I could utilise API to create specific applications. During this week we were also given some extra reading and told to read the book Effective Java which increased our understanding of design patterns. If you’re big on development (both programming and personal) Ten10 is the place for you as they consistently invest in you.

Week 3
During Week 3 we looked at coding with large code bases using GitLab. We had access to Ten10’s Gitlab and were assigned tickets by our coach to solve. My ticket involved the process of round-tripping entry points from a string so I could print out an entry point and get a convenient representation-like main(string{}). During this process, we also worked on our version control skills with Git to ensure that we did not have any merge conflicts when working on larger code bases. I found it both interesting and challenging as it mimicked real-world applications of what it would be like to work in a development team. During the week we followed an Agile-style methodology of working where we had daily stand-ups to discuss the progress and blockers within our tickets.

Week 4
In Week 4 we were challenged to learn a new programming language: C++. C++ is a programming language where having control over-representation in memory is important (having predictable high performance). We started off very light with two example programmes – one to calculate someone’s body weight on Mars and a random number generator using std::random_device. We also learned about static and dynamic linking, zero-overhead abstractions, references and pointers, memory allocation and ‘resource acquisition is initialisation’ (RAII). We then recreated the RPS programme with the use of C++ following its rules.

Week 5
In our final week, we were given full creative control over our final development project. It could be done in any language/framework and utilise anything which we have learned over the five weeks. I challenged myself to learn a new language: typescript. TypeScript is a mixture between Java and JavaScript as it allows syntax for typing which has benefits including increased developer productivity, reduced bugs, and enhanced scalability.

I decided to create a WhatsApp bot that utilised the WhatsApp developer API. This bot aimed to take details and information through prompts from a user on the front end and parse the data into a MongoDB database. This could have a variety of uses, such as gathering data for a mailing list or automating the processes for RSVP-ing for events. The whole process required a lot of patience and resilience as I encountered numerous bugs and blockers but I prevailed in the end. We again followed an Agile way of working where we had stand-ups and discussed any bugs or blockers. At the end of the week we held a demo of our project to Ash Gawthorp, the Chief Academic Officer.

Conclusion

Overall I really enjoyed my time at the Ten10 Academy. From the people to the work culture, consistent support, development, and feedback I received, I truly believe Ten10 is a place where ambitious people can develop themselves and cultivate their career path. I’ve now been placed with my first client and can’t wait to officially start my new tech career. If you’re looking to start a new career in tech, I would 100% recommend you apply today.

How do you feel you’ve transitioned from the Ten10 Academy to your client work?
I feel that I have transitioned well in moving to client work. It was a bit intimidating at first, but as I grew accustomed to the role, the environment, and the team I work with that feeling quickly diminished.

Whenever I had questions about admin or steps needed taking outside of my client work role, I could always speak to Academy Wellbeing who would either answer my question themselves or point me in the right direction to have it answered.

Take us through your placement, where are you currently working?
I have worked with the Information Security Team. I have been responsible for one project (which entailed triaging of security alerts, contacting users, performing security analysis, investigating suspicious files/URLs/emails, and improving security alert rules) as well as other security-related responsibilities.

What parts of the Ten10 Academy training have been most useful in your placement?
I found several parts of my training of great use:

• Professionalism and teamwork skills
• Knowledge of HTML and websites – useful for investigating potentially malicious sites
• Report writing – I often find myself writing small reports on an event or an investigation
• Understanding of IT infrastructure, firewalls, and IP addresses – used very frequently when trying to understand an incident

What is a normal working day or week for you?
A normal working day starts with checking my emails/teams messages for any urgent news or tasks. I then sign myself into all the services/portals I make use of in my role for investigation and triage of security incidents. A security incident could be anything that is detected in the client’s IT architecture that may indicate something suspicious has occurred.

I also usually open several third-party tools I use during security analysis. I make sure to open an empty notepad for any jotting down or copy/pasting of IOC (indicators of compromise – which could be anything suspicious from an investigation). I then investigate incidents, the time each incident takes to resolve, and the specific steps a security analyst needs to take is very fluid. When the investigation is completed, and all processes are completed. I resolve incidents as either malicious, benign, or false positive. If an incident is malicious then additional work needs to be done. This may include preventing further malicious action, restoring things to how they were before the incident, and reporting on what happened and preventing future events of that type.

Afterwards, I may investigate incidents/issues reported by users following the same general process as written above. Or I may take some time to study for my planned certifications. It depends on the workload on any given day. There are semi-frequent meetings and calls I attend throughout the day as well. Some examples of investigations I may need to perform are:

Investigating if a user has received a malicious email: I safely navigate to a suspicious URL attached to the email and discover it is a website impersonating a Microsoft sign-in page to harvest user credentials for future malicious activity. I block the URL from being accessed and the email address that sent the email.

A user account has received a large number of failed sign-in attempts from unusual IP addresses: I investigate their sign-in logs and discover that the IPs involved have been marked as suspicious. I ensure the user account is secure and can block the IPs if needed.

Have your roles and responsibilities changed during your time on placement?
Yes, it has. As I have gained experience with my main incident investigations, I have taken on more additional work. This includes email-based investigations and user-reported issue investigations.

What technology, tools, frameworks, and processes have you gained experience with since starting client work?
Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender, Mimecast, Virtual Machines, and Sandboxes. Before I started client work I had no experience with any of these.

How has your client supported your development?
They have supported me in a great many ways:

• When I first started, I did a lot of remote shadowing more experienced team members
• I have a monthly 121 with my manager
• The team has had multiple training sessions where I have been involved
• Time has been provided to allow me to study for cyber security certifications (including the CompTIA Security+ and the SC200)
• Even now when I am accepting additional roles and tasks, the time to shadow more experienced team members is provided

What support have you received from Ten10 during your placement?
As mentioned earlier, the members of Academy Wellbeing have consistently provided me with support and advice. I have been provided with training courses on Udemy to support my transition into client work. The certification exams have been paid for. Additional Udemy courses were also provided to help study for the certifications.

Have you been given any extra opportunities through your client work?
I have attended a couple of company events so far and had the opportunity to meet the team and other client employees in person. I have virtually attended several industry events, the latest of which was a Mimecast Summit regarding Ransomware. I have also been told that when in-person industry events take place my client will eagerly support me in providing the time and transportation needed to attend.

How do you feel you’ve transitioned from the Ten10 Academy to your client work?
I think it went well! Due to the nature of my client I needed to wait for my security clearance to come through. Once I started, the client eased me in by not giving me too much to start with. It gave me a chance to understand the organisation before ramping up with work. I really appreciated this as I didn’t feel overwhelmed at all from the beginning. My team has been really supportive, encouraged me to ask questions. and generally been very approachable which made the transition very smooth.

Take us through your placement, what are you currently working on?
One of the projects I’ve worked on and really enjoyed was creating a tools and applications guide aimed at staff in non-technical roles to help them understand the tools used by software engineers/data engineers/data scientists to manipulate data. I enjoyed this project as it involved meeting with the technical staff and gaining an understanding of the tools, then writing about them in non-technical terms. I also learned to use Confluence while creating this guide (as this is where the guide is stored). The feedback I received on this tool was positive and that it helped people understand the technical tools better.

Other work I have been involved with includes writing data governance documentation. This involves inquiring for information from the technical staff on how the data is used and justifying that the data is required to carry out the work. I’ve also been involved in assessing whether all the data we currently have is actually needed as a project to reduce the amount of personal data we have stored.

What parts of the Ten10 Academy training have been most useful in your placement?
The Jira training was useful as we now use Jira software on a daily basis in my team to assign and manage tasks and workloads. The introduction to coding was also useful as I have recently started a programming project and even though it’s a different coding language, learning the basics has helped with my progression. Learning the basics of the command line will also come in useful soon as my team is being trained on how to use it to automate various functions.

What is a normal working day or week for you?
My team is responsible for maintaining and governing all the datasets that we keep in-house. A normal working week includes assessing whether any governance documentation is due to be written and reviewing all the datasets to ensure they are still required. There are also ad-hoc tasks that come in each week so the job is varied which keeps it interesting. I also spend some time working on my Python program which will help my department with auditing the use of applications. We also work closely with data analysts and engineers to ensure they can access the data they need.

Have your roles and responsibilities changed during your time on placement?
I have recently been given a wider variety of tasks from my manager. Now that I am proficient at data governance work, I am being introduced to a wider variety of work which is interesting. I am more independent in my role now that I’m six months in as I have a better understanding of the department and the job itself.

What technology, tools, frameworks, and processes have you gained experience with since starting client work?
I’ve gained experience using AWS, I have also started to learn Python and become more proficient using Jira and Confluence.

How has your client supported your development?
Mostly with independent projects where I can upskill myself. We will soon receive training on the command line which will help with my technical development. My manager has been very supportive and given detailed feedback on projects I have completed which has helped my personal development. We also have regular 121s where we discuss my work and how I am progressing.

What support have you received from Ten10 during your placement?
The Wellbeing team has been supportive and is always happy to chat and check in with me, which I appreciate. It was also nice to have regular catch-up calls while I was waiting to start on my client project. I always get a reply very quickly whenever I message anyone from the Ten10 team which I really appreciate.

Our Ten10 Academy provides a great route into tech for people from any background – whether they’ve just left high school, are finishing up university studies, or have already worked in another industry. In this edition of ‘Shift Happens’ we’d like you to meet Raees Tahirkheli who worked at a law firm for many years before he decided to take the plunge and join the world of IT. He joined us in early 2024 and is about to start his first client work so we sat down with him to chat about his career journey thus far.

What position and industry did you work in before joining us?

I worked at a criminal defence law firm, named Eldwick Law, for many years. My role was Senior Paralegal/Office Manager. My duties were to manage and train the other paralegals in our Bradford and London offices. I would manage the diary, attend to clients, judges and barristers in court, conferences, and prison etc. I would also deal with the billing of Crown Court, Magistrates Court, and Police Station files. I would conduct legal research and prepare documentation to bring files ‘trial ready’.

What made you pursue changing careers to tech?

I always had an interest in tech but felt I did not have the qualities or experience to take that step. I wanted to work in a role where I could be universal. My goal is to get into the tech industry and be able to work abroad. My long-term dream is to live in the Middle East as a tech consultant.

What was your perception of tech before joining Ten10?

I felt it would be like the movies: multiple computers and constant typing on the keyboard. I was not aware of all these different roles available in the tech industry and that not all the roles are like that. However, I also felt that I would be out of place and would not belong. To be honest, I had doubts a week before joining about whether I should take this leap. I felt like I didn’t deserve to be there or that I was not experienced enough to be here. I am glad I overcame that doubt and I attended because the support and help you get from Ten10 is amazing and they make learning simple.

Do you feel that having prior work experience has been an advantage during your training?

I feel like the professionalism, and the communication and managerial skills I learned from working at Eldwick Law have given me great skills for the training. It gave me the confidence to ask questions and lead a group even though I may not have the most knowledge.

How do you feel about your career change so far? How are you enjoying working in tech?

It was scary leaving my previous work. I was always thinking about whether I was making the right decision, especially making the switch from law to tech – it is a complete 180 in terms of role and area of work. I feel happy that I was confident and brave to make that switch and take that risk. It has been one of the best decisions I have made so far and I am looking forward to my new career in tech.

What advice do you have for other people considering a career change to tech?

Take that risk. Make that jump. Ten10 is different. They are here to help you achieve your goals and chase your dreams. No other company will do what they do and how they do it. If you work hard, have the confidence to speak up, and have dreams of working in the tech industry, then Ten10 should not be second-guessed if you have the opportunity to join.

Reinvent your recruitment strategy and bring new talent into your team

We train people from all backgrounds, many of whom have never written code before. From Master’s graduates to school leavers, career changers, and people returning to work, you can grow your team with new, diverse prospects. Book a tour of the Ten10 Academy and learn how we’re training the next generation of tech talent and deploying them into organisations like yours across the UK.

For over ten years, the Ten10 Academy has been transforming people’s lives and kickstarting their tech careers. Through our combination of impartial recruitment, expert training, and award-winning support, we’re proud of the impact we’re making as we help organisations bring new and innovative talent into their organisations. But if you’re considering joining the Ten10 Academy, you may have a few questions before you’re ready to fill in your application.

Here are your frequently asked questions about the Ten10 Academy, answered!

What tests do you have to complete as part of recruitment?

There are two exams that are part of the Ten10 Academy recruitment process: a non-calculator mathematics exam, a technical aptitude test, and a situational judgement exam.

• The non-calculator mathematics exam is a 30-minute test covering skills in analysing data, problem-solving, and approaching tasks methodically.
• The technical aptitude exam is a 40-minute test designed to identify the candidate’s competency for Academy training and gain insight into each candidate’s potential, regardless of educational background and experience level.

Through these tests, we look for a combination of drive, core knowledge, resilience, common sense and the underlying characteristics/behaviours to succeed.

Any further tests you complete will be part of your Ten10 Academy training and tailored to the course content you are studying. In many cases, these are group or solo projects you complete with guidance from a tutor and present to your fellow Academy cohort. However, you may also have the opportunity to complete industry-recognised certifications such as those through the ISTQB and ITIL schemes.

What tests do you complete as part of the Ten10 Academy training?

We have multiple choice exams at the end of every module to cement your knowledge of each topic, to help you think critically about the information you’re taught, and also as an indicator of your strengths and suitability for certain future roles and clients. Exam questions are worded similarly to industry certification exams and help prepare you for taking certifications in the near future.

If you’re worried about exams or don’t often have confidence in that kind of environment, don’t worry! They are only a component of our trainer’s overall assessment throughout the training. The overall ‘assessment’ is made through a combination of practical exercises (such as interacting with systems, testing, building applications etc.), group work, topic-based presentations, and soft skills observations.

What qualifications do you earn as part of training?

Training through the Ten10 Academy means completing two key stages: your core technical primer (‘Core Training’) and then a specialist training pathway based on the field of IT that you show an interest in and aptitude for.

There is no catch-all qualification for completing the Ten10 Academy. However, we do support and pay for you to pursue qualifications to improve your knowledge an employability in your specialist field. This could be a qualification such as ITIL Level 4 or a Foundation level of the ISTQB, to name just two examples.

We also support training based on what our clients are looking for from our Academy Consultants, so may present you with opportunities to gain platform-certifications, especially in realms such as DevOps, Cloud Computing, and Data Analysis.

What is the Learn It, Grow It, Live It model?

‘Learn It, Grow It, Live It’ is our three-stage model of how we ensure you make of the most of your training and continue your professional development while at Ten10.

You start at ‘Learn It’ – which includes the seven weeks of core training, one week of client readiness training, and three to six weeks of further specialist training at the Ten10 Academy. This gives you a broad understanding of how many forms of technology work, and a deep understanding of one specialised field such as RPA, DevOps, or Test Automation.

Afterwards, you enter the ‘Grow It’ stage – we sit down with you and determine what further training you might benefit from. This includes one-to-one training sessions and completing industry qualifications such as the ISTQB, all still funded by Ten10.

The final stage is ‘Live It’ – which is when we help determine what type of client placement suits you best. Our clients range from fashion brands to market-leading supermarkets, public sector departments, charities, law firms and financial institutions, across the entire UK. And when you’re placed on your client, you’ll still receive excellent support from Ten10 through a designated career mentor, our Academy Buddy scheme, a line manager, and our Award-winning Academy Wellbeing Team.

And that’s how the ‘Learn It, Grow It, Live It’ model takes you from a day one trainee into a fully-fledged technical consultant.

What benefits do you offer?

We have a great range of benefits that you’ll enjoy if you choose to become part of Ten10. These include:

• Health insurance covering medical, dental, optical and alternative therapy treatments
• Pension contribution matching up to 5%
• Subsidised gym memberships
• Bike to work and season ticket loan schemes
• Team socials and activities, sporting events, annual kick-off and Christmas parties
• Opportunities to give back to charities and causes close to you

When you include all that, and the expert training we give you to become a technical consultant, it’s easy to see why so many people choose to start their careers with the Ten10 Academy.

What happens after the two years?

After you’ve finished Academy training, you’ll be a Ten10 Academy Consultant working on client projects. Depending on your placement you may be asked to relocate to live closer to a client’s workspace, and you may be required to work in a client’s office – but you are still a Ten10 employee.

After two years, you may become eligible for client teams to hire you permanently. We have many people who work with their clients for a long time, they build up expert product knowledge, and their clients are so happy with their work, they want to hire them from Ten10.

Other people stay in Ten10 and join our permanent Consultancy team. We’re proud to say that many of our consultants started their tech careers with us, and some have even gone on to become trainers at the Academy themselves.

So what happens after two years? You’re able to continue progressing in your career, whether that’s staying in Ten10 or joining your client team permanently.

We’re proud to offer a route for people from all backgrounds to kickstart their career through our award-winning Ten10 Academy. Several people join us either straight out of university or instead of pursuing higher education altogether, but we also accept many people who are seeking a career transition.

We wanted to hand the spotlight over to a few of these people who can share their stories and experiences of taking the leap of starting a brand new career from scratch with us at Ten10. Here are Francisco Fernandes and Anthony Pierre to tell you all about their career change into the world of IT.

What position and industry did you work in before joining us?

FF: Before joining Ten10 I came from a marketing background. I was an intern for a marketing agency called Voilla for six months and a digital marketing coordinator for Blackburn College for four months. During these roles, I was in charge of handling the major social media platforms, regularly updating the website with keywords to improve SEO, creating content and content ideation, and building and maintaining relationships with the stakeholders.

AP: I have been in the hospitality field for around thirty years. I started as a crew member at McDonald’s and rose to management after going through the staff positions. I have worked for companies such as Pret a Manger and Pizza Express and have always been good at creating well-engaged teams. I have worked in businesses of various sizes, and I particularly enjoyed advising smaller businesses on how to be compliant and safe within their premises. I reached the position of Area Manager within hospitality and I have also launched a few smaller brands taking responsibility for all aspects from the site build through to the onboarding of the teams. I have also written comprehensive training materials to help with team development.

What made you pursue changing careers to tech?

FF: I had always found myself leaning into the digital and technology side of things during my career, however, I never really thought of a solely technology-focused career. The singular experience that changed my mind was during the 2021 boom of blockchain technology and the metaverse. That really sparked an interest in what technology can do and what it can bring, and I wanted to be a part of it. Although I didn’t think I could transition into tech due to not coming from a technological background, I spoke to peers that are in the industry and I saw that I had plenty of transferable skills and a lot to give to this industry. This led me to pursue a way into this industry and that’s how I found Ten10.

AP: I have always been interested in tech, and I enjoy learning about the different aspects of networking in my free time. Working within hospitality for so long, it was difficult to see a clear path forward into a different career path. Often when I shared this desire with recruiters, they of course wanted the easiest path for themselves so preferred to put me forward for roles that I had done in the past.

What was your perception of tech before joining Ten10?

FF: I did not know what to expect when considering learning tech before joining Ten10 but I did know Ten10 Academy had a track record of people who came from the same background as me. I knew it would be difficult because I would have to learn new terminology but I was excited to figure out how things work behind the scenes of a website, how data connects through systems, and the processes that help a team build and create an app.

AP: In comparison to my cohort, I lack the development skills that I see that they have in spades. However, it was apparent to me in conversations that some of my prior work situations had placed me into scenarios where I had managed very large teams and been responsible for millions of pounds worth of budget, stock, and equipment. These are the transferable skills that, with training, could be put to use within the technology industry maybe within a Business Analyst, Project Manager, or Project Management Office role. This was an area of doubt before I joined the Academy and although it was answered on day one, it was probably not until the end of the training that I fully believed it!

Do you feel that having prior work experience has been an advantage during your training?

FF: I did not have technological work experience so in that sense I did not feel like I had an advantage. Sometimes I found myself getting confused over acronyms because they were similar to others I knew but did not have the same meaning as what I’d learnt before. I almost had to completely rethink my approach. However, through my time in the Academy, I believe that no matter what work experience background you come from, you will have at least one transferable skill to bring at least to one of these modules.

AP: From the trainer feedback I received it was mentioned that it is clear that I have experience of being out in the work environment. I came to both the in-person classes and online calls on time, and the trainers were good at noticing other small things that were, to me, quite commonplace from working with groups of people. As someone who can speak within a group of people without issue, I tried to recognise people who were talented but were reluctant to speak out. It was great to see how those individuals changed throughout the training. Conversely, I found that as I supported those quieter individuals also they went out of their way to support me when I fell behind with the pace of the training.

How do you feel about your career change so far? How are you enjoying working in tech?

FF: I absolutely love it! I was concerned with starting something completely new but now I know it was the right choice. I stopped my previous career because I saw most of the work I was doing was being automated by AI. This halted my ability to learn as I was not actively using my skillset that took years to learn. Everything felt easy and I was not improving. This is a common trend amongst people across different careers, not just marketing. On the other hand, the technology industry is so complex that it feels like every day is a learning opportunity. I believe there will never be a stage where my learning stops and I don’t continue to improve.

AP: I was lucky enough to get a client in the second week of core training, and I am waiting for security clearance. After meeting with Sales during the Client Readiness Week, it was interesting to see the various roles and industries that Ten10 has access to so I know that there are positions of interest for me.

What advice do you have for other people considering a career change to tech?

FF: Is there a learning curve? Yes. Will it be challenging at times? Yes. However, will it be worth it? 100%. My advice is to be resilient and trust the process. Tough times make tough people. There is 100% a place for you in tech and you just need to find it.

AP: I am an older recruit to Ten10 and as such, I was surprised that I was even accepted! But after discussions with Jenny Briant, the Academy Operations Director, she explained that I was admitted because of my life experience and the desire to join. I wish I had done this earlier in my life as I would have still had my extensive experience to pull from but I would be reaping some BIG rewards now! But you have to start somewhere, and I appreciate Ten10 for creating those first rungs of the ladder to allow people with no experience to find a pathway into the industry. The Academy is challenging but Ten10 emphasises creating a unique blend of individuals per cohort who come together to create friendships and support one another. If, like me, you are older, never forget that the soft skills that you’ve learned over time interacting with users, customers, and suppliers are useful soft skills which can also be applied in the IT industry. Good luck!