A month has passed since Digital DNA’s event in St George’s Market, Belfast and the event is still making waves. Here at NIjobfinder.co.uk, we have a passion for development, growth and helping people find their dream job! For those of you who don’t know, Digital DNA organises Ireland’s largest digital technology event which takes place in Belfast each year and covers everything from Digital Marketing to Fintech.
Over the course of two days, we learnt a lot about the digital landscape in Northern Ireland, what’s more, we got the scoop on how to get ahead in digital roles from some of Northern Ireland’s best digital recruiters and soon to be graduates and we’re going to share it with you today.
Deloitte Digital is the creative digital consultancy branch of Deloitte, we caught up with a few of their team to discuss how they started in a digital role and what advice they could give for people hoping to start their career, returning to work or retrain in the digital sectors.
“Working within the digital sectors you are constantly challenged to learn and develop in a fast-paced workplace. With Deloitte Digital, we work across multiple industries meaning there are many different technologies utilised making it very dynamic.”
“Within Deloitte Digital there is a strong focus on Continual Professional Development (CPD) and there is a lot of support to develop your skills and broaden your knowledge. Not only that, but there is a huge focus on emerging technologies which we can then take straight to our clients and it’s powerful.”
“Over the past 5-10 years, there has been a growing demand for digital skills and the development of new specialisms. What people sometimes forget is you don’t have to be a developer to work in digital, it’s not all about coding and there is a huge range of backgrounds working with the digital landscape.”
“Overall it is a marvellous industry to be involved in. The rate of investment, disruption to the market and changing roles makes this an exciting industry to be in, whether you’re a technical person or not. The rise of the digital age and advancements in technology will affect every one of our roles, so it is crucial to embrace it.”
We spoke to Sean Devlin, the head of IT and Digital Recruitment and he shared with us some of his top tips for making waves within digital roles and how he predicts the market to change over the coming years.
“Digital roles are developing at a rapid pace across Northern Ireland and are now forming a bedrock of the new economy here. Government, education and the business communities are going in the same direction and the need for skills shows no sign of relenting.”
“Digital skills are paramount to the success of our future economy. We have an outstanding reputation globally for these skill sets, but we mustn’t rest on our laurels. The future will belong to people who are naturally adept with technology and can pick up these skills quickly. We have amazing educators who are recognised internationally in their fields of excellence, international firms are continually amazed at the quality of teaching in Northern Ireland and the subsequent skills and talent this provides to our employers. We have the potential to attract more and more of these innovative, high growth organisations if the flow of talent continues.”
“At MCS Group, we have seen a spike in Software, Digital Marketing and more recently Cyber Security roles. Belfast is an attractive area to do business and despite the unknown element of Brexit, the investment here looks strong from business owners and FDI’s. On a global scale, Northern Ireland is proving itself as highly successful in the digital area, the talent here is second to none, so whatever happens, we will still be an attractive proposition for these skills.”
Finally, we spoke to University of Ulster student Chantelle Thompson. Chantelle is a 3rd-year student from the University of Ulster, Coleraine and is currently on placement at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown.
“Since September, I’ve been on placement as a marketing assistant with the University of Ulster at their Jordanstown campus.”
“During my time on placement, I’ve learnt the importance of networking and events, I’m now aware of how crucial networking can be and I’ve found it very rewarding to build key relationships and learning from others. On the second week of my placement, I had the opportunity to meet the secretary of state at a state visit and one which I will remember for a long time. During my studies, I started an entrepreneurship society and I presented my plans and strategy at an EER meeting in Belfast.”
“My technical skills have improved vastly as I could apply the knowledge I gained during my degree. More importantly, my confidence has grown significantly during my placement and I would recommend it to any student considering one. My placement has allowed me to set myself apart from other graduates and develop further skills that I might not have been able to gain during my degree.”
“For me, the future of digital is being connected, in the current job market if you don’t have digital skills you can miss out on opportunities.”
We’re very excited to be involved with such a ground-breaking event and we can’t wait for next year’s event from Digital DNA.