09-11-2021 08:34

New learning programme transforms tech savvy into engineers

Ten people have switched careers to join Nordea for a learning experience that will develop them into engineers. The new programme aims to tackle the growing need for future software development skills.
People in event room

In a red-hot job market where companies are battling it out to attract software engineering talents – how does Nordea compete? By hiring a journalist, a forklift operator, a petrol station attendant and an accountant.

Sounds counter-productive, right? But it isn’t. It’s part of a novel programme to support growth and talent development in Nordea, and future-proof the company by expanding the pool of software development skills.

The programme, called Future Engineers, calls on Nordea employees and the general public to awaken their inner passion for software development and join Nordea for a year-long learning experience that will transform them into engineers.

Project Manager, Katarzyna Szczudlińska-Urban, describes it as, “a two-way street - we help people fulfil their career goals as software developers, at the same time gain skilled and passionate specialists.”

“By providing the Future Engineers with specialised trainings, buddies and placing them in real projects, it shows them how invested we are in their development and learning. It’s great to see how their passion and fresh thinking is adding value to the team and Nordea culture,” she adds.

Coding is in their blood

The first ten participants, all with various career and educational backgrounds such as journalism, accounting, military and law, have one thing in common: coding is in their blood.

Two of the participants were asked to comment on why they chose to follow their passion and re-program their career path

Dorota Miler, Future Engineer in Loan IQ

‘’My adventure with finance started when I began to work as a data analyst. Soon after, I trained to be an accountant, which was a crucial eye-opener. Learning about accountancy programs made me realise how technology can simplify your tasks and create huge potential for improvement – provided you’re knowledgeable about programming languages. This was the turning point and the moment I started to learn about Java and new technologies. I taught myself how to code in my spare time. It was something I always wanted to pursue.”

Łukasz Rydzewski, Future Engineer in Corporate Netbank

“Technology has always been an interest. As a teenager, I‘d read articles about it and play with operating systems. I first came into contact with programming language in the 6th grade, when I found an introduction to Turbo Pascal at the end of my mother's ‘IT basics’ book.  A few years later I won an HTML competition. Despite all that technology interest, I decided to pursue a career in the media. For the past seven years I’ve worked for various TV and radio stations. At work, I continually automated the ‘boring stuff’ with Python and then decided I wanted to learn to code more efficiently and turn my hobby into my job.”

Certification upon completion

The Future Engineers are placed in different teams throughout Technology, where they work on a daily basis. Each team provides support, mentoring and training opportunities to enable them to become independent developers. At the end of the programme, the Future Engineers can be certified in their relative fields and potentially integrated into their current team or transferred to other teams where their skills can be used.

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