Cornwall’s tech sector is growing fast, with a world of opportunities to explore. Tech Cornwall is here to help you unlock your potential and start you on the path to a career with high earning potential and great work flexibility.
We’ve opened the door to tech employment for local talent across the county, including Tech Academy Ambassador, Ana Castro Borda.
Ana is now a Software Engineer Trainee at Truro-based Calculated Innovation, following completion of our Gateway into Tech programme. Ana shares her journey below.
“I think the tech industry and education have in common the need to maintain a lifelong learning approach, which fits really well with my curiosity and novelty-focused attention.”
Youth work to tech work
Ana moved to Cornwall in 2017 after several years of living on the move. She had carved out a successful career in outdoor education and youth work, but a back injury forced her to reconsider her options.
Living with chronic pain, Ana decided to retrain and forge a new career for herself. Looking to tech as a potential new beginning.
Her previous work had meant lots of travel, and through that she met many people who worked in the tech industry. She admits that “being exposed to a community that was so open-minded and welcoming” put tech at the top of her priority list when it came to deciding what to do next.
However, Ana soon realised that tech opportunities weren’t as abundant in Cornwall as they were in the cities. She dreaded the idea of having to leave the county, even if it were for only a year or two.
Ana was working part-time when she could to sustain herself, which made committing to full-time, in-person training courses difficult. Ana also knows she works better and achieves more when working at her own pace on projects she is interested in – making the Tech Academy a perfect fit.
Ana’s gateway into tech
After following Tech Cornwall on social media and exploring the many innovative organisations that make up Tech Cornwall’s membership, Ana committed to the idea of retraining in tech.
“It made me feel like there really are opportunities and a growing industry in the local area worth investing my energy into,” she says.
Ana was part of the last cohort of the EU-funded ‘Gateway into Tech’ programme, and says that “the in-person workshop really helped build my confidence in my skills to join the tech world.”
Newbie to natural
Having barely written any code at the time, Ana found being able to cooperate with other students who were more experienced than her was hugely beneficial. Ana quickly realised that many of the life skills she had gained prior to joining the programme were transferable in the tech world.
Speaking about her experience as part of the cohort, Ana says:
“Having free access to premium online learning, with a deadline, was perfect. It allowed me to focus on what I wanted to learn and access complete curriculums, while also adding the time pressure of making the most of it before the end of the program. I went from learning to print in Python, to training basic natural language processing algorithms within months!”
The Tech Academy value
Looking back on her time on the Gateway into Tech programme, Ana says that she found the weekly Zoom calls a huge help, making the leap from her previous career to tech-based not seem so insurmountable.
Through her training, Ana became particularly interested in data analysis and natural language processing (NLP), and now, these areas of expertise feature in a third of all projects Ana is involved in at Calculated Innovation. In fact, they are the core component of her work over the next three months, as she takes the lead in data analysis for a new project.
The Tech Academy Impact
Sharing how Gateway into Tech contributed to her success in her current role, Ana highlights how meeting other self-taught professionals and late career changers who were doing well in the industry was a big boost to her confidence.
“It is easy to feel disheartened when stuck at home trying to solve a problem,” she says. “Taking part in activities with others was very helpful. Being able to talk about the challenges, and hear from others about their struggles, made it feel like part of the process, as opposed to failure.”
A message to employers in the tech industry
Asked about what advice she would give employers about hiring candidates who came through alternative training programs, Ana says it’s “important to acknowledge that traditional training programs don’t have the capacity to keep up with the fast pace of change that has become the norm in the tech industry.”
Adding that, “alternative training programs tend to attract self-motivated individuals who can manage their time effectively and who are more interested in learning than getting certified, which will translate into clear benefits once they join a workplace.”
For the future tech mavericks
Speaking to people who may be considering a tech career but feeling unsure about traditional education routes, Ana says it’s important to be aware of what you want to get out of the program.
Ana believes that learning to learn is a very important skill, and advises potential tech trainees to spend time figuring out what learning method works best for them.
“Research the possible fields of specialisation in advance, and make sure you have the intrinsic motivation to be involved without the deadline and peer pressures that keep us on our toes through traditional education,” she shares, adding that future tech pros should “take advantage of the chances offered to meet other people in the field, and seize the opportunities to develop with others, as they are skills that will help you shine when the time to interview comes.”
An education essential
Ana believes that alternative training pathways like Gateway into Tech will become an essential part of education in the future, as they can “be created and adapted much more flexibly than a traditional curriculum.”
“More and more young people have recognised that they learn better at their own pace than in the classroom,” says Ana, citing the pandemic as the turning point for this.
“The combination of mentoring and peer work, as well as flexible workshops and master classes will become more attractive to more people,” she adds, ending by saying that “this will allow Cornwall to train a new generation of tech workers that won’t have to emigrate to chase a bright future!”
Ready to level up? We offer a range of tech training courses and expert-led masterclasses, designed to help you elevate your skills and boost your career prospects. Check out our current opportunities and book your spot today!
Ready to transform your career?
The Tech Academy is your gateway to a career in the tech industry, offering hands-on learning, industry connections, and real-world experience. You can develop your skills, confidence, and expertise – all for free!
