Daniel Whitley

Two years ago when I started my journey with Firebrand I believed my knowledge of I.T was good considering I studied I.T at college for two years. Little did I know that I was yet to scratch the surface. When joining Firebrand I unsure what I was going to gain from the intense courses and a two-year program. After 20 months in the program, it is safe to say that Firebrand has met and exceeded my expectations.

The choice of course for myself was an easy option and something that I made back in college. I was sure software development was the right path for me. I have been able to pick up great technical skills on the job, some of them being SQL & Unix skills. Additionally, being in a working environment has helped me enhance my soft skills. Further to learning on the job you have the opportunity to broaden your knowledge by going to Firebrand's learning centre in Wyboston, where I have attended several courses such as MTA Software Dev, ITIL, and Java (OCJP).

I was concerned on my first trip to Wyboston as I knew I had a long intense 3 days ahead and all I could think of was how I would stay focused. My first course was ITIL and its safe to say the intense course worked better than anticipated, sure the days were long but I managed to go back the office with a new qualification and ideas of how to improve the team. I choose from a very early age that University wasn’t for me, I had always been a practical learner and someone who learns a lot more on the job. Firebrand was the company that stood out to me as they met all my requirements, I would be given the opportunity to get industry known qualifications and I managed to find a permanent contract at one of the UK’s largest and longest established investment houses.

As I'm only 20 years of age my career aspirations change weekly but I can say that I am in a much better position now than I thought I would be 2 years after leaving college. That is all down to hard work and of course the support from both my company and Firebrand. Throughout the program, Firebrand is there to support and guide, which is always a good reassurance. Going into a big company and starting at the bottom, I have learnt if you want to be the best you can be you should never stop learning. I.T is a very fast moving world which no doubt will continuously grow. If you have no drive to learn you will simply be left behind.