April 3, 2024
Today PreparationTech provided more than one hundred high school students from Amsterdam and Almere with a peak inside Schuberg Philis, a leading Dutch IT company. The students came from groups under-represented in the tech industry: girls, kids of colour and kids from low-income communities.
Our aim was to inspire them to pursue tech-related study, training and career paths.
Schuberg Philis provides 'mission critical' solutions. In plain English, it helps businesses keep their operations up and running 24/7, in case of events like energy grid failure and cyber attacks.
In the morning, students heard from the company's Chief Innovation Officer Ilja Heitlager about his personal story and his tips for planning study and careers after high school. Next, they had the chance to speak to a diverse and inclusive set of employees working in both tech and non-tech roles during a panel discussion and speed dating.
They also learned about Schuberg Philis' compensation structure during the 'Show Me the Money' discussion. In the afternoon, students learned what mission critical IT is before participating in a fun and interactive game related to it.
It was a day to remember, with one teacher remarking "I really like the atmosphere and vibe of Schuberg Philis. It's not flashy. The employees are kind, humble and real. It seems like a nice place to work."
Some student feedback:
- "I found it very cool that people with no background in tech or a school diploma are working at Schuberg Philis."
- "The talk on salaries was very interesting. I did not know that tech jobs are paid so well!"
- "I'm Ghanaian and want to be a software engineer. So it was nice to speak to an African software engineer at the company."
- "I was suprised by the number of people working at Schuberg Philis who aren't techies. I don't want to study tech but I may want to work for a tech company."
- "'Mission Critical' IT is very cool. I loved Thijs' presentation and the game we played afterwards."