How Skills City turned Qasim from data user to data creator

Having just finished his BA in IT in 2011, Qasim was set to begin his tech journey. He moved to the UK ready to get started, wanting a better salary to support his family, but his career got sidetracked, and he found himself working as a customer sales advisor. After seven years, Qasim had had enough and began looking for what he’d originally moved to the UK for. It had been so long since he’d last properly looked, however, that Qasim was aware he’d have to re-train himself to get back into the tech sector. The idea of doing this while being unable to support his family financially was not appealing.

It was while speaking to someone who’d gone through a similar situation to him, in his new job as a digital coordinator, that Qasim realised there were routes back into tech that could be taken for career changers such as himself, where he could upskill whilst bringing in an income. Qasim began looking into Data Analyst opportunities such as this, and it was while researching that he came across Skills City. Impressed both by the tools he’d be trained on in the course and the flexibility the course offered, he applied and was accepted. ‘I was so concerned about not being able to fit it in with my current job’, Qasim said, ‘but the flexibility of the course meant I could cut my hours down at work, and they were more than happy to work alongside the course’.

When asked about a particular highlight, Qasim answered, “The client-facing project. During it, we had to build a customer portal on behalf of one of the Skills City clients, where customers could track their order status (whether it was at a depot or on the way to someone’s delivery address), so each member of our team was responsible for dealing wi

th different sections of building it (for example, one was responsible for building the software that provided a customer with a unique reference number, another building software that alerted the customer when it was on its way to them). To ensure each of the builds we were tasked with went smoothly, good interpersonal and project management skills were key, with myself delegating work to different people, making sure tasks were being completed, and knowing when one of the people in my group was struggling. Leading a project with a team of people with different backgrounds and skills was a massive satisfaction area for me.”

Having almost finished the course, Qasim had only positive things to say when reflecting on everything he’d learnt in the past 12 weeks and is looking forward to showcasing his new tech skills in his upcoming interview with Bentley Motors. ‘The technical experience I’ve learnt aside, such as learning SQL and PowerBi, I’ve gained so much confidence from the course! If you’d asked me a few months ago what data was, I’d have responded, saying no clue. Now I’m at the point where I can explain data and how I’d analyse it and build solutions to it. I have the Skills City digital technicians to thank for this, particularly Sufian, who’s been incredibly patient with us every step of the way and helped us become proficient in everything required to start a Data Analysis career. Our client partner for our end-of-course project was also beneficial, always on hand if we had any concerns or questions regarding the project that we felt needed answering.”

“To anyone looking to get started in tech, I would 100% recommend a Skills City Skills Bootcamp. Everything about it- from being 100% remote to the digital instructors always on hand to help- is so accommodating to someone like me who can’t afford to take time off with a family to provide for, and it’s really helped boost my confidence. I feel so much more confident now about my tech future!”

Whether you’re a career changer like Qasim looking to get back into tech or uncertain about getting started, a Skills Bootcamps with Skills City can help you. Find out more!