Interview with WOMEN4IT training participant Ema

Women4IT is a project that aims to develop young women’s digital competences, thus improving their employability. The mission of the project is to create attractive employment opportunities for young people, to organize jobs for women in the technology sector and to expand the partnership network with employers in order to try out new employment solutions.

One of the most important parts of the project is the development of a new online tool that allows participants to assess their competencies, compare their skills and job profiles, and offer the most appropriate learning program. This goal is achieved in the form of training, where participants have the opportunity to complete courses that are tailored to the needs of digital profession profiles.

In 2021 February and March, the training part of the Women4IT project took place in Lithuania, which was implemented by the Baltic Institute of Educational Technologies (BETI) together with the Training Organization Group. The training, which lasts 160 hours, was successfully completed by 100 participants from all over Lithuania. When starting the training, the girls chose one of four possible digital professions – project coordinator, customer service specialist, junior web developer or data analyst.

Participants agreed to share their experiences of participating in the Women4IT project trainings, how they learned about them, what led them to choose these trainings, what new knowledge they gained and whether the trainings had an impact on their future life goals. Training participant Ema Beatričė Laukaitytė has graduated from school and is currently working in a café. She decided to take the course because it turned out to be a great opportunity to gain new knowledge. Ema Beatrice chose to study the junior web developer study program and successfully completed it. We invite you to get acquainted with her training impressions and experience:

What did you like most about the training? I liked the whole training material, the amount of useful information that was provided during each lesson.

What was the most difficult thing for you during the training? Some tasks were difficult, but they were overcome with enough work and effort.

What motivated you to complete the course? I was motivated by the realization that after completing these courses, I would learn to create a website myself.

What are the three most important things you will take from this training? 1. Website development information. 2. Useful links for further learning and development. 3. Acquired practice.

What professional skills did you acquire during the training? I gained new knowledge for website development and computer work.

Would you recommend this training to your friend? Why? Yes, I would recommend it, because there is a lot to learn during the course.

Have these trainings changed your future plans? It didn’t change, but it helped increase my knowledge baggage and helped me realize that I could create a website myself or do this type of work.