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 Sandra Kirgetovaitė decided to participate in the course encouraged by her friend. The participant was interested in seeing how web development is going: “It’s a new challenge for myself, will I be able to understand and learn about this innovation.” 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? I liked the fact that during the quarantine there was an opportunity for distance learning and you don’t have to be in the auditorium for that. I liked the teacher, who taught well and you could intervene in her conversation at any time and ask what you didn’t understand – she was happy to help the participants. I also enjoyed homework, after which I consolidated the things I learned.
What was the most difficult thing for you during the training? The hardest part was the Javascript tutorial, which consisted of more complex features that still need to be explored. I wanted the Javascript program to have received more attention.
What motivated you to complete the course? The desire to learn what I started and learn more details about web development.
What are the three most important things you will take from this training? 1. New experience in the field of web development. 2. Understanding how web pages are created. 3. The idea that if necessary, I will already be able to use my acquired knowledge from these courses.
What professional skills did you acquire during the training? I learned and gained basic skills in using programming languages.
Would you recommend this training to your friend? Why? Yes, I would recommend. First of all, the courses broaden your horizons. Second, such training helps to understand how changes are taking place in the modern world of technology. And the knowledge gained here is enough for you to create your own website.
Have these trainings changed your future plans? I can’t answer this question exactly yet, there are still thoughts in my mind, deliberations are going on.
