One of our Year 12 students had the opportunity to benefit from a ‘Software Insight Day’ with MHR International, a software and services provider. A day involving interactive workshops with Software Engineers and advice sessions on how to secure a role in this field and what the modern-day workplace is like. An invaluable experience in helping to explore career interests, and the options available.
This our student’s account of their day:-
“After arriving, the MHR Academy teams introduced us to the plan for the day. Afterwards, the MHR Graduates and Apprentices came to share their experience working in the company. Some of them had just finished their A-Level exams and were taking a gap year. They mentioned that ‘the company has a unique culture; people here treat their colleagues like friends,’ which I perceived to be absolutely true. I observed HR and managers engaging in friendly conversation with colleagues. They said, “The only thing required here is passion, it doesn’t matter if you lack skills because all you need to do is learn and improve.
Next, we learned about website development, and the manager provided us a high-level demo of the user interface with the software and coding. The combination of different departments working together was impressive, with at least 8 departments involved in one software product.
After lunch, we got a series of coding challenges supported by the programming team. Recommended coding languages here include Python, C#, and Java. The challenges ranged from simply printing out ‘Hello World’ to counting digits. I have some coding experience, so this wasn’t too challenging for me. I’ve finished the “Rock Paper Scissors” minigame and the final Hangman game with time to spare. As a reward, the leader of the programming team gave me an extra challenge of completing the “Noughts and Crosses” minigame, which is the same feeling of receiving extra work when you have done well!
Before we left, the HR team reviewed our CVs and provided practical feedback. This is extremely helpful, especially since I had recently finished my CV and it’s challenging to identify areas of improvement without having any previous work experience.
From the Software Insight Days, I gained a better understanding of multiple new concepts. Not only including programming skills, but also essential tips for applying for jobs and future applications. This is eye-opening and I’ve really learned quite a few valuable skills.”