International Women’s Day — Inspiring colleagues: Venessa Cox

I support learners across all areas of Firebrand – Apprenticeships and courses too. Before this, I spent 2 ½ years as IT Subject Matter Expert, looking after all Level 3 Apprenticeship standards. My speciality was IT Tech, which has now split into Information Communications Technician (ICT) and Digital Marketer. I also assessed all standards – Firebrand Learning Mentors don’t do this anymore. I’ve seen everything!

As to how it all started…I have to say tech found me rather than the other way round.

I was a tomboy in school; I really liked the idea of tech and was inspired by my father, who was a draughtsman, laying down track for hardware electronic boards.

Tech was around me all the time, so naturally I wanted to go into Computing. After O-Levels, when I was 16, I talked to the head of my school’s Computing department…They laughed their heads off! ‘We only have 5 computers and computers are for the boys, so you go and do typing and sewing...’ That’s what school was like then in the UK, ‘82-‘83.

I decided to take their advice and trained as a nanny – what’s now called Nursery – did it for a couple of years, but I wasn’t happy…So I set up a business; we had a contract to distribute solicitor’s mail – a Brickdocks system.

I bought a computer and taught myself accounting, VAT, payroll – I’ve always found computers logical, learning by doing; I took courses too – they were so expensive, but I had to do it. My business had a manual system and, in time, I lost the contract to Hayes Business Services.

Then I had my son 😊 and decided to take a break.

I took a Digital Marketing course, learned Web Design...When my son was about 3, my local middle school in Bedfordshire offered me a job as IT or DT Technician. After a month, they said, ‘You’re wasted on the DT side; become an IT Technician and set up a network for us.’

To learn to do this, I attended night school – City Guilds Levels 2 and 3 Networking. I then looked for a Windows Server course, which is when I first encountered Firebrand! It had only recently been created.

I was so driven to take this course – I wanted to look after absolutely everything at that school! VM and Active Directory, security, installing computers, configuring printers…and I did! I was promoted to Network Manager – if it had a plug on it, I looked after it!

I also set up their first website; I’d look after their data, help teachers with PowerPoint, mail merge certificates at the end of the year, create comment banks for report writing, even put up snow messages when school was cancelled.

After a while, it became too much, and I asked the school if I could have an apprentice. I ended up having five and becoming an In-Work Mentor. We had to choose them carefully because we wanted to maintain a safe and nurturing environment; because of that, our Apprenticeships became a learning environment for people who would have found it difficult to get other jobs. We had this entire network of moms who had put their careers on hold and had time to upskill – an untapped resource!

I spent 15 years at that school until it sadly closed; after that, our Apprenticeships learning provider asked whether I’d like to be trained as a Learning Mentor – which I absolutely loved. Working with apprentices and doing this training, I found my calling was mentoring – I’m still in touch with all five apprentices I had and am amazed by their progress!

One was incredibly withdrawn, on the autistic spectrum; bundled up in his hoodie all the time. After 6 months of being an apprentice, he felt comfortable enough to take his hood down. He did Levels 3 and 4, then a Game Programming degree. After that, he was offered a job at his uni, where he supports and mentors students. Without the Apprenticeship, he couldn’t have had this job. Another of our apprentices went from being nonverbal to incredibly talkative; now, she’s Head of Security.

Mentoring these apprentices, I realised I could help people progress from a lost soul to someone who succeeds – which, to me, is more rewarding than purely working in IT. I’m naturally empathetic; I can read people, I can understand when they are overwhelmed; I understand the spectrum. By doing this, I learned everyone can achieve if they’re given the right support. The key is, individualised! Not one-size-fits-all.

At Firebrand, we see a lot of learners for whom the alternative is sitting alone in their bedroom, gaming. That’s not the answer. The UK Government has a big push to get them into work; the benefits system will be cut back to encourage those who are fit and healthy to have a job.

However, even if someone looks physically healthy, it doesn’t mean they don’t have social and communication issues, mental health issues. In the UK, we’re good at accommodating for physical disabilities; this is not as straightforward. It’s part empathy, part experience – even art. For me, being an In-Work Mentor was very easy; I just had a knack for getting people motivated. I believe in destiny – this is what I was supposed to do!

As a business, we’re becoming better at dealing with such learners. We have frequent staff meetings to recognise the signs and understand the support we need to give: safeguarding, mental health support, teaching them about growth mindsets, resilience, self-motivation, coping strategies – group coaching, drop-in clinics, one-to-one…

At the moment, we have 250 learners across Wellbeing and SEN in our department. We can support anyone, from those who are just nervous about EPA to those who need help communicating at work, organising their thoughts, writing projects…Usually, once they’ve done the first project, the next flows quite easily. We also support learners with complex needs, talk to them and their employer and help keep them on-programme.

Without this help, during the past academic year, 46 learners would have withdrawn. Now, they’re well on their way to life-changing careers in IT.