Each job description defines a set of skills necessary for a person to be successful in a position. In today's world, where talent shortages are a hot topic and desired skills in many areas are becoming more specific and complex, employers often organize training for their current and future employees as an effective method to secure their business needs. In the IT sector, this model has recently become increasingly popular in the form of academies for IT professionals, which aim to teach key practical and theoretical knowledge to talent within a short period of time, so that they can be successful in the company.
Following this principle Manpower Bulgaria together with flatexDEGIRO organized "Java Traineeship" for IT professionals with basic experience in Java programming. The program began in October 2022, and today Tim van der Wart (Director Organizational Development & Culture) and Sylvia Ivanova (Head of IT) from the flatexDEGIRO team tell us more about the reasons for the increasing need for talent training, what are the benefits of organizing such programs and what they hope to achieve with the Java Traineeship academy in the future.
Recently, there has been a trend for companies to train their own candidates before hiring them. What is the reason for this?
Sylvia: Unfortunately part of the university education in Bulgaria is still morally outdated. The amount of practical classes is not enough to prepare people for the needs of the business. As a result, if you just complete your conventional education without combining it with additional training, internships or courses, you are not particularly valuable for IT companies in our country. To fill the vacuum between what education gives young experts and the needs of the business, IT companies are largely forced to take matters into their own hands.
Tim: I will add to what Sylvia just said Sylvia by saying that the foundations that university education provides are extremely valuable. And the need for this initiative is also justified by the specificity of the company. Our business relies 100% on products and systems built by us. Of course, we understand that no university can prepare people for this.
What would you like to achieve by organizing “Java Traineeship”?
Sylvia: Our main goal is to build professionals specifically prepared to work with our products. The program has a unique mix of topics. At the end of it, we will have specialists with a set of knowledge and skills to enable them to grow with us.
Tim: The best thing about this program is that all countries benefit from it. It is a definite win-win. We provide paid internships to people with no work experience that will give them a fast start in their career. And flatexDEGIRO gets the opportunity to build professionals to our high standards.
What do you think is the benefit of this type of training?
Sylvia: Currently our company is not as recognizable on the Bulgarian market as we would like. For us, this is also an additional opportunity to show candidates that flatexDEGIRO is a place where they can grow and develop with us.
Tim: Our company is different from the majority of competitors on the market. Our work is not based on different projects. And unlike many companies with offices in Bulgaria, our team in Bulgaria is not just IT - we have experts in over 12 different departments. This means that working at flatexDEGIRO - Bulgaria puts us in a central position in developing a highly successful FinTech business. This opportunity in itself is unique.
Where did the idea for this program come from?
Sylvia: The idea to start the internship program came from our IT team. It is based on the personal experience of some of our colleagues. We then decided to build on it - not many beginner developers get such structured training with real business experience, and get paid.
Tim: Of course, we are not inventing anything new. But we believe that this is also part of the responsibilities of the business and we decided to upgrade it in our own unique way.
What can the interns expect from the program?
Sylvia: They can expect interesting work in a fast growing company. We are proud that the company is one of the few in our market that can boast dynamic, steep growth. Our trainees not only receive adequate remuneration for the time they invest in themselves and in us by training with us, they are also given the opportunity to reactivate their ambitions through their personal and career development. Our Agile working environment in small teams guided by senior developers will offer young people access to years of experience and expertise.
Tim: Upon successful completion of the program, they will be offered permanent employment with us. But in the meantime, the program is built so that they also get a real taste of working for us in every way - from the technology, systems, and products to the benefits that every employee gets - company parties every month, 30 days paid leave and more.
