Shortly after National Apprenticeship Week, we talked to a former learner, Tanzia Ahmed, about her experience on our Skills Bootcamps programme.
Unlike Apprenticeships, which normally last more than a year, Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks. Part of the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee, these programmes give people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.
Anyone can take Skills Bootcamps, whether employed or not. This allows learners to immerse themselves in their studies and figure out whether a career in tech is for them.
This is what happened in Tanzia’s case. She grew up in a tech household, with both parents in IT-focused careers and a brother passionate about cybersecurity, working in a financial institution.
Despite all this and despite the encouragement she received from her family to build a career in IT, she’d never been interested in or thought of a career in tech. Instead, she gained a background in Economic Growth and Development and worked in public policy consultancies, focusing on policy research and project management.
“Tech always seemed too complicated and too difficult,” Tanzia said; “I’ve always had this fear that I don’t have the calibre and so I won’t be able to perform very well, which was working against me.” However, as she delved into her own career and started using tech more and more, she started to appreciate it.
In the autumn of 2022, Tanzia thought that it was the right time to look into some training opportunities. She was still unsure about IT, but a friend of hers, who is a Lead Consultant for Microsoft Dynamics 365, recommended Firebrand.
“He definitely knows what’s out there. He told me, ‘Why not just do a bootcamp? Everything uses IT now, it’s great for upskilling, and having that knowledge looks good on your profile.’”
Tanzia applied for the Skills Bootcamp in Cybersecurity in October '22; it started the following month, and she finished in January 2023.
Why Cybersecurity?
“It was actually the first topic that caught my eye. It seemed a slightly less difficult topic for me.”
When she mentioned her training to her brother, he was very keen for her to pursue it, advising that security, identity, and compliance are increasingly important now, as remote and hybrid working are so common.
“He said Cybersecurity has many different facets, so you can choose what you want to do.” This was around the same time that large companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Uber were getting hacked and Cybersecurity was increasingly coming up in the news cycle and, consequently, in people’s minds.
Tanzia’s bootcamp was completely remote. It included three topics – Cyber Safe, Information Security Principles, and Identity, Security, and Compliance. There were a few intense training days each week and enough time to delve deeper into each area. “I had to do a lot of self-study. The bootcamp was a really good starting point!”
“Our cohort was really interesting too – a lovely group of 12 people.
There were people like me, without any tech background at all, some with a bit of a background, and 2 or 3 who had been in IT their entire lives, even with their own companies.
“Cybersecurity as a topic was gaining a lot of interest; so many things were going on, so, regardless of our background, we all had a similar learning curve. We’re still in touch with each other quite often, sharing info and job opportunities. It’s very interactive!
“Modules cover a lot. For someone like me, without previous tech knowledge, the modules, the instructors and having Success Coaches with a lot of background info was really useful. Zaira was an excellent Success Coach; she gave us a really good picture of what to study, what’s important, what to focus on, what breaking into the Cybersecurity industry looks like – and really good guidance and support to start our new careers!”
While doing the bootcamp, Tanzia got a new consultancy job, which she’s still doing. Her new supervisor was very interested in the course. She suggested that Tanzia could manage their new project management platform, liaising with the IT department and helping her develop her skills.
After taking the bootcamp, Tanzia would like to shift into Cybersecurity full-time, focusing on information security, governance and compliance.
“I think Cybersecurity teams have to communicate clearly – what sort of info are we dealing with, what security standards do we have to maintain, what kind of processes do we need in place… I’ve done a lot of these things!”
Project Management, building systems and processes, and ensuring compliance are all transferrable skills that Tanzia will be using in her new career.
“I highly recommend this bootcamp. It was a really good initiation into tech!”
Thank you for talking to us, Tanzia, and best of luck in your new career!