 Come to our next Tech Careers and Pizza Night. Details and bookings through: www.signal.ac.nz/events Phone 0800 990024 |
Tech is New Zealand’s third-largest export sector and is growing fast with over 9000 new jobs expected to be created over the next two years*.
To fuel this growth, NZ needs more people with a grounding in tech to meet the rapid expansion within this exciting and varied area, which crosses into many industries.
SIGNAL ICT Grad School develops tech professionals to meet that growth via SHIFT, enabling more people to enter this dynamic and diverse sector.*1
4352 New Full-time Tech Jobs Created in NZ in the last year.*2
The SHIFT Programme
SHIFT is an innovative industry-driven programme for those who are seeking a new career path who may not have a tech background.
Open to degree-holders in any discipline, learners in the current cohorts have various backgrounds, from philosophy, sociology and marketing to graphic design, engineering and science.
Available in both Christchurch and Dunedin, this one year programme offers relevant and current content to ensure you are well equipped to work within the tech area, where the skills you have learnt in previous work and study are highly valued.
Partnering With Industry
SHIFT uses immersive studio-based learning and real-world industry experience to produce graduates with a solid base of core computing skills, as well as communication and employability skills required in today’s collaborative workplaces.
The current Christchurch cohort, which started in July, have just finished two collaborative studio projects; making an app to track native planting in New Zealand and coding a small computer to create a personal bus schedule monitor. These projects are tailored to complement their preferred specialist tech area and enhance their employability.
Opportunities
With tech roles existing in nearly every area from aviation to zoology, career possibilities are extensive.
Through the SHIFT programme, learners can focus on software design and development, or allied roles, such as business analyst, web designer, project manager, user experience designer, technical writer, sales and client support . . . and the list goes on.
Diversity is welcomed; in the current Christchurch cohort, 80 percent are women, and two learners in the SHIFT programme have young families. SHIFT is also well suited to new graduates who may be looking for that X factor to boost their employability.
SIGNAL Dunedin is situated in the funky Vogel Street area, close to many of Dunedin’s most successful tech companies in the revitalised Warehouse Precinct.
The next SHIFT intake commences in February 2019 and scholarships are available.
Call SIGNAL today on 0800 990024 or click here and start your shift into NZ’s fastest-growing sector.
With a Masters in Geology and 10 years experience working in the mining industry, Isaac re-assessed his career goals, wanting a career that was more flexible and portable.
‘I saw the SHIFT programme as an exciting opportunity to add specific tech skills to my knowledge base, so I can translate those skills into a new career.’ For his industry project, Isaac is working with Stantec NZ to represent aerial drone footage.
‘The school-friendly course hours have allowed me to carry on with my before and after school duties, and this has really helped my family and my career training.’
Jessica is a qualified and experienced radiation therapist who is changing direction into tech because of the increasing connection between medicine and technology.
SHIFT is adding tech to Jessica’s existing clinical experience, while working with real clients from Dunedin’s tech sector.
Jessica’s first group project involved working with Kylie Robinson and the team from Igtimi, on a new feature for their Yachtbot product, which enables world class sailing athletes to better trim their boats to maximise speed and performance.
‘The project work has really extended my knowledge into areas I would never have considered working in just a few weeks ago, but now I feel like I can tackle diverse problems and definitely create solutions. It has been challenging but very rewarding!’
*1. NZ Tech Digital Skills Survey 2017
*2. 2017 TIN Report
