Blog

At Fivium, as well as assisting the public sector in their digital transformation efforts, we like to make sure we give back to the community. Earlier this week I had the pleasure of doing just that.

On Tuesday 11th January I visited Leigh Academy Rainham to challenge, inspire and answer questions on computer science. The purpose was to discuss the array of career options that Computer Science can provide and dispel the myths that might be associated with it.

What struck me most about the newly formed school was that I didn’t have to do much on the inspiration front; the children were highly inquisitive and keen to learn more. My job suddenly became a lot easier!

I took the children through my background, having grown up a 20-minute drive from their school, and explained the various options available to them when it comes to subject choice. What was most important to me was ensuring they knew that anybody could go to university if they wanted to. And, having been the first person in my family to go, they didn’t have to have a history of university-goers in their family to get there.

I then discussed my university life and the amazing year in industry opportunity that Fivium gave me. Each year, Fivium takes on several university students for their Year In Industry to give them a taste for working at a tech company. We place great importance on helping to foster and nurture the future of the UK’s tech workforce and many of our placement students choose to return to work for us full time after their graduation.

Ultimately, though, I learned to program because I liked computers, and whilst there may be many children who don’t have this passion, it’s important to be able to envisage where your individual passions could take you in the future.

Having helped teach in three IT lessons as well throughout the day, I saw so much raw talent and potential at Leigh Academy Rainham. The school’s three values are Dream, Believe, and Achieve, so giving them exposure to what amazing Computer Science careers are available so early on really helps with this. I hope my talk showed the children that they really can follow their dreams, and helped give them what they need to believe and achieve.

Chris Tasker, Lead Software Developer, Fivium