More women in tech!

profile picture Amy Colville 5 min read

A few weeks ago, we were invited to an event for Ada Lovelace Day at the Francis Crick Institute. 

The line up was brimming with inspiring female role models and speakers from companies like Made.com, Snapchat and Microsoft.

But much more importantly, the room was packed with 200 motivated girls aged 16-18, looking for a springboard into a career in tech.

This brilliant event was set up by Workfinder, a startup seeking to revolutionise work experience for young people, regardless of their background, by connecting them with exciting companies through their app. They put us in contact with Anisa and Farzana, two girls from local schools who we had the pleasure of spending a week with here at Yoti HQ.

They gave us some brilliant insights into the minds of a teenager and did some great work publicising Yoti to a young audience. Plus, they even managed to do some coding!

But don’t hear it from us. Here, in their own words, are their reflections on their week of work experience at Yoti.

Monday 

Anisa

This was my first day at the company and it did take me some time to find the place. But once you know where it is you won’t be lost. I remember that there is a small Sainsbury’s opposite the building! As soon as I got in  I was wholeheartedly welcomed by the staff and then escorted to the floor I was going to be working in. My ID card was made in front of my eyes and it was so cool to witness! 

I was then equipped with a laptop to work with (I was not expecting it to be a MacBook) I was then instructed to complete all my login details which didn’t take too long. After that, I was handed over my first task which was a privacy task. So, I was asked to make a note of what could be improved in the Yoti privacy information and for this I had to be very critical as it was going to benefit the company. 

Farzana 

After lunch, we then met Hannah who set out an HR task for us to create a presentation about involving more women within STEM and the significance of it. As a person who has worked around this area and is very interested in this area this task became very fun and interesting for me. After finishing our presentation ideas, we played table tennis in the “Park” area and then we have met our primary host, Leanne. 

Tuesday 

Farzana 

It was easy for me to find the place as I remembered all the shops near the office so I arrived before my start time. 

My task for the days were to create a poster for an event, create a powerpoint for the STEM campaign and design a job description for any role of my choice.

I was able to complete all my tasks within the given time and I thoroughly enjoyed the poster task as I learnt many new skills and was able to put my creativity into action. 

Wednesday

Farzana

I was set a market research task by two members of the marketing team. The task involved me coming up with the ideas of how to publicise Yoti to a younger audience. I came up with a video and poster which will be executed via social media and public billboards. 

After I completed my powerpoint I had lunch with some of the team members which was lovely! We conversed about schools, future, cultures and so much more. Once lunch was over I continued with my task as I was going to display my ideas. 

Then I presented my ideas in my first meeting and was given good feedback and suggestions on how I should physically showcase my ideas.

I then created an advert in the form of a poster within 30 minutes which was quite challenging but taught me how to manage my time. 

My second meeting was in a large meeting room with many members of staff and it was my first time doing such a thing! 

My presentation went really well and I explained how Yoti can be advertised to attract a younger audience. 

Thursday

Anisa

The task I was set was based around research. I was asked to look for different companies which use Yoti and note down the way in which they advertise it. This was to help the company aware of the different styles that Yoti is presented in so they can ensure that all key points are featured and explained well. 

I then began working on a powerpoint to portray my findings. I presented my ideas to one of the product design members who explained the process of creating a new product, which was very interesting!

Friday

Anisa

We were introduced to Ed who set a Coder Dojo task for us [a coding workshop for 7-17 year olds held at Yoti once a month]. It was to use the website Python which contains different modules and create codes which generates something in a program for example drawing a specific shape. It is quite interesting how these codes can make the slightest changes for the program and what each function represents in the program. Not only that, it was actually really fun! 

Farzana 

From this experience I was able to gain so many new skills as well as adopt a new perspective. I was able to understand the different types of tasks employees at a tech company are assigned with, as well as gain an insight into how new products are formed. 

We would like to say a huge thanks to Anisa and Farzana for choosing to spend your week of work experience with us. We learned lots from you guys and we hope you learned a thing or two from us too.