The first graduates from the C5 Alliance academy have been promoted.
Tim Ogier and Michael Wade joined the IT and technology company in 2014 as part of the Application Support Team and both have recently been promoted to the position of Consultant.
The C5 Alliance academy was initially launched to attract talented Computer Science graduates back to Guernsey as the number of students returning to the island was declining. The company offers a number of opportunities for graduates and undergraduates looking for a career in the local technology sector and have supported numerous students via a bursary scheme.
Mr Ogier studied Physics at University of Warwick; he also recently achieved the Microsoft Technology Associate accreditation and is currently working towards upgrading this qualification to Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate.
Problem solving is a large aspect of the job, Tim Ogier explained, as computers never do something without reason. “Sometimes the root cause is buried deep in the application code and can be quite difficult to find,” he said. “Hopefully you can find a way to reproduce the issue in a test environment and from there you can work out a way of fixing it.”
Mr Wade studied Web Applications Development at Plymouth University and is currently studying various Azure technologies with aspirations to gain Microsoft certifications in this area. Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform and infrastructure created for building, deploying, and managing applications and services through a network of Microsoft-managed data centres.
One of the most significant parts of being a Consultant, Mr Wade noted, is finding the reason a client is asking for a particular system, and using the correct piece of technology to help them solve that problem.
“Different technologies enable me to solve problems of all shapes and sizes for a wide range of clients. Technology is always advancing and changing at such great speed which makes every problem and solution different,” he said.
Both agreed that being able to advance their careers in Guernsey was one of the benefits of working at C5 Alliance. Mr Wade also highlighted the fact that they get to collaborate on many different projects and use interesting technologies across various industries; “Something that would not be possible if we worked as part of an in-house development team,” he pointed out.
Matthew Thornton, Director of Process and Platforms, said: “We pride ourselves on employing and training graduates who will make a real positive impact on the local economy. Both Tim and Michael are excellent examples of home-grown talent in the software development sector.”
“As Guernsey’s technology sector grows so does C5 – however as an entrepreneurial business, we’re not just looking for software developers for our graduate academy, there are several areas in our business where we can train graduates.” Mr Thornton continued.
Applications for the next bursary, for students beginning their studies in September 2017 are accepted until January 2017.
Anyone interested in finding out more about a career with C5 Alliance should contact careers@c5alliance.com.