From The Prince's Trust Teams student to Forfusion

Reflecting on the past year, I can say with confidence that securing a work placement within the IT industry came as a complete surprise to me. While I have always been dubbed the tech-savvy person of the family – having spent my early years poking around computer applications and browsing the web – I never assumed my knowledge would land me a position within the field. Nor the unexpected journey I took to get here.

Joining the Prince’s Trust

Before finding Forfusion, I enrolled onto an employability course called Teams, an at-the-time twelve week-long programme led by the charitable organisation, The Prince’s Trust. The programme aims to support young people into employment or help them work through other tough challenges they’re facing in life.

After completing a Newcastle United Foundation hospitality course, I joined Teams in the hope of finding my first full-time job. Over the course, I developed and practised many social skills that I’ve since applied to my work and personal life.

My first introduction to Forfusion came through a site visit arranged by Teams. We were given a tour of the company, shown a live demonstration in their purpose-built test lab, and concluded the experience with a presentation on career opportunities within the industry.

At the end of our visit, I expressed my interest in their HR sector to Katie, our Business Services Director. Although there were no open HR roles within the company at the time, my enthusiasm granted me the opportunity to carry out my Teams work placement at Forfusion.

Work experience placement

During my work placement, I was given the fascinating chance to shadow various departments within the company, from HR and Accounts to the Commercial Services team. Intrigued by what I observed and eager to get further involved, I was delegated several tasks across the departments which saw me conducting credit score checks, updating prospect details, creating sales quotes, and writing up blog entries to name a few.

After only a few days into my work placement, Forfusion took me by complete surprise when they offered me a job role, impressed by my skills and enthusiasm towards the company. However, I wanted to learn more about the team before making my decision. My choice of sticking with the planned two-week programme provided me with this very opportunity; and after completing my Prince’s Trust course, I was employed by Forfusion as an Account Support Executive.

My first year of employment

Initially, my role saw me primarily lending a hand within the commercial and sales side of the business, processing deals and securing the relevant pricing. Driven to help in more areas, my workload has evolved to cover the marketing team, where my literacy skills are put to good use. Nowadays, I predominantly help drive marketing campaigns, aid in event organisation, social media activities, and other media production and review tasks on top of my original assignments.

As an artsy individual who takes joy in data entry and spreadsheets, I feel lucky to have scored myself a role that allows me to practice a lot of what I already love. This, along with the welcoming support from my fellow colleagues since the day I started, has made my first year at Forfusion a thoroughly enjoyable experience – one of which I hope to see through for many years.

Looking towards the future

In future, I aspire to continue growing my knowledge of emerging technologies and expand my skillset by becoming more involved within other areas of the business. Keeping my workload fresh by engaging in a variety of tasks around the company. This year has been an eye-opening experience, one of which I’m eager to keep up with moving forward at Forfusion.