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. The training participant Sandra Stanulionytė has graduated from VMU with a bachelor’s degree in European Economics and Finance and has worked in the field of sales. She decided to take part in the course because in her spare time she wanted to learn more about creating websites. “After Udemy’s training in Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS, I heard about Women4IT and became very interested, so I decided to try and expand my knowledge,” said the course participant. Sandra chose to study the junior web developer’s degree 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? What I liked the most was the detailed and clear information, the female team, and the interesting practical assignments.
What was the most difficult thing for you during the training? Since I had never encountered JavaScript and PHP before, these topics were the hardest to understand.
What motivated you to complete the course? Desire to learn more and do practical work perfectly. At the end of the training, I hoped to be able to create my own personal page. I want to be glad that this has been done and I think this personal website will put me in the eyes of the employer. Website link – https://stanulionyte.lt.
What are the three most important things you will take from this training? 1. Extensive knowledge of HTML and CSS. 2. JavaScript basics. 3. Do not give up and boldly learn new areas. At first, things seem very complicated, but with time and effort, things gradually become clearer.
What professional skills did you acquire during the training? Working with graphics programs, databases and content management systems.
Would you recommend this training to your friend? Why? Yes, I would definitely recommend it. The training is perfect for a beginner, provides a lot of knowledge and opportunities to consolidate the theory through practical work. I also think it’s a great opportunity to expand your career opportunities.
Have these trainings changed your future plans? Yes, I plan to continue to study and expand my knowledge in this area and possibly build a career in IT related in the future.
