With dreams of becoming an ethical hacker, Kay-Leigh had a clear idea about the type of company she wanted to work for in the future. But with so many different pathways and conflicting advice, she was keen for first-hand guidance on the best route to take.

As someone studying computer science, economics and geography, Kay-Leigh has the potential to succeed in many industries, but repeatedly hearing about the importance of maths and further maths in securing a tech career was undermining her confidence. Discover Tech was an unmissable opportunity – the chance to get in-person experience in a variety of tech firms.

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Discover Tech - hands-on from day one

Discover Tech is a two-day work experience event, created by Cisco and brought to life with the help of the programme’s founding partners and employer members.

Day one opened at London South Bank University with a panel from Cisco and the employer partners - Adobe, IBM, Accenture and World Wide Technology (WWT) talking about their day-to-day roles and how AI is changing their work. This was followed by a rotation of activities, which Kay-Leigh loved. One had students programming with a micro:bit – a first for Kay-Leigh, even as a Computer Science student. She also loved the cybersecurity challenge, where groups were tasked with identifying strong and weak passwords and understanding what makes a network secure, with teams unlocking a small treasure chest of sweets for every task completed.

That was the most interesting activity for me, and a good group task, too. It really helped me work with people I hadn’t met before.

By the end of the day, students had met the company they’d be working with on day two, along with their group lead and some of the degree apprentices who’d be hosting them – several of whom were only a few years out of school themselves.

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Pitching, presenting and proving herself

Kay-Leigh was hosted by WWT during day two, which opened with degree apprentices sharing how they’d got into the company. This was followed by an afternoon preparing a pitch for an AI healthcare app to present back to those same apprentices.

Aside from the technical AI skills, we also developed our public speaking and teamworking skills, which I feel are equally important. It was quite nerve-wracking, but as it went on, it got better.

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The power of transferable skills

Kay-Leigh’s biggest realisation came after hearing from degree apprentices who hadn’t taken a conventional route into tech.

The big thing I took away was the importance of transferable skills, because a lot of the degree apprentices didn’t have a linear route into tech. There was one apprentice who’d done A-levels in the humanities, and she still ended up at a tech firm. There’s so much emphasis on how important maths, further maths and physics are, so it was really reassuring to hear that. The degree apprentices explained that what matters is what makes you, specifically you, suited to the role.’

Hearing this helped Kay-Leigh realise that working in tech doesn’t need to be technical. The apprentices she met worked in a range of departments and made it clear that speaking to customers or helping them choose the right products mattered just as much as technical roles.

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Challenging common beliefs and looking ahead

Kay-Leigh’s realisation extended to her own next steps, too.

It’s not just “go to a tech firm and become an ethical hacker”. You could go through technology sales and find a different way into cybersecurity, for example. It gave me more pathways and more perspective on both the technical and non-technical roles in tech.

Asked to sum up what she’d take away, Kay-Leigh kept coming back to the same themes.

The main things I’ll take away are the importance of transferable skills, meeting new people, and challenging stereotypes about what working in technology is actually all about. I also loved meeting degree apprentices who are only a few years older than me – if they can do it, why can't I?

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Could your organisation be part of success stories like this?

Kay-Leigh’s story shows what can happen when students have the chance to meet people who’ve taken different paths into tech. Now’s the time to expand your talent pool by joining Discover Tech – the easy, low-resource way to deliver work experience. Get in touch with me, Rachel Morar, to find out more about what taking part in Discover Tech could mean for you and your organisation.