Capgemini in the UK has agreed a new multi-year national partnership with CodeYourFuture (CYF) to help even more people launch careers in technology, with Capgemini's involvement in the vocational training program set to hit new heights.

Capgemini has collaborated with UK-based non-profit CodeYourFuture for the past five years, supporting more than 600 trainees, and becoming the first corporate partner to offer start-to-finish support for CYF’s free coding program.

"We've learned a lot together in the past five years and are committed to continually improving the program. From this year, we’ll offer introductory courses to coding and digital skills to complement the existing software development program offered. And we'll now be supporting students across the UK – in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow," said Capgemini.

To celebrate this moment, Bethan Richmond, UK Digital Inclusion Programme Lead, spoke with Sonjide Hussain, a CYF graduate turned Capgemini project management specialist, who  shares how the program has positively impacted her career.

Be curious, brave and focused on the end goal

Sonjide had zero experience in coding when she applied for the CYF course. But having previously worked as a project manager in rail engineering, she had been surrounded by technical team members and found herself curious about digital skills. After watching a YouTube video of a seven-year-old coding, she was inspired to retrain and found the CYF course.

“The key to succeeding on the course and in your career is to be curious, be brave, and be focused on your end goal. Don’t let challenges overwhelm you. Coding is very practical – what you code is what appears on the screen. You get an immediate response from the work you are doing," says Sonjide.

Because Sonjide had no knowledge of coding, she had to attend an introductory course where she was taught basic coding and could see if she had what it takes to keep up on the full course. The full program then took a deeper dive into more mainstream platforms like JavaScript.

Receiving helpful advice from mentors 

For Sonjide, the greatest thing about the course itself was the community she was invited into.

"The CYF team, the mentors, and even previous graduates all make themselves available for advice and guidance. Mentors, in particular, are a huge source of support and wisdom. They really want to impart their knowledge, but they also show great patience – steering you to work out an issue by yourself first, rather than immediately jumping in to fix things. It really gave me the confidence to listen to my instincts," explains Sonjide.

"The mentors really act as your main sponsors on the course – pushing you to succeed, testing you on what you are learning, and making sure you understand what you are coding and how it supports the bigger function, rather than just doing the task and not questioning its value. That balance between supporting and challenging is the key to a graduate’s success. Some of the mentors also became our friends outside of the program. This helped to humanize them and make us feel that one day we could have the technical knowledge that they have," adds Sonjide.

Developing soft skills for careers

For Sonjide, the development of soft skills for a student's career is "incredibly valuable". While the main focus of the course is to develop technical skills, it also aims to build confidence and help students manage pressure, soft skills that every employee needs to make use of at times.

"The programme also taught me to be more analytical and investigate situations, rather than simply accepting what I was first presented with. I also really valued the interview support from CYF and the Capgemini mentors. If I had come out of an interview and felt like I hadn’t done a good enough job of selling myself, I could speak to the team and we would analyze my performance to help me to prepare for the next one and ensure I wouldn’t make the same mistakes," comments Sonjide.

Becoming part of a support group

When asked about the main differentiator between CYF and other educational programs, Sonjide says: "For me, it’s all down to the volunteers, and the community you become a part of. The program is more than just a digital course that will help you get a job. You become part of a support group that is there throughout your career and is always willing to listen and provide advice. English wasn’t the first language of many of the students I was on the course with. I recognize that it can take a lot of effort and patience from the teaching team to help people build their English at the same time as they are learning a whole new coding language."

Sharing important career advice

Sonjide shares her advice for someone looking to change their career path: "If you don’t try it, you will never know your potential. You do need to be brave, but the results could be life changing. If you aren’t sure that coding is exactly what you want to do, just know that the CYF course exposes you to a vast array of job roles within the tech sector and demonstrates how coding helps to open doors to a future career you may never have imagined."

Build a great future with Capgemini

Helping Capgemini clients grow while building a more sustainable, more inclusive future is a tough ask. But joining Capgemini means joining a thriving company and becoming part of a diverse global collective of free-thinkers, entrepreneurs and industry experts who are all driven to use technology to reimagine what’s possible – and rewrite the future.

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