FDM

Nilima Dusaj

Before joining the FDM Tech Returners Programme, I was looking after my family, and enrolled onto several courses to upskill my technical knowledge. My career break lasted over 5 years. After the birth of my daughter, I took a maternity break and relocated from Singapore to London. Once I had settled into the UK, I began looking for a fresh job opportunity. The pandemic then hit, shutting down business.

I faced many challenges whilst attempting to return to work. I applied to several jobs which matched my work experience but had no response from recruiters. CV reviews were also unsuccessful and led to no further success. It then became obvious that the problem was not my experience but rather the career gap itself. Talking to recruiters or HR individuals was no help. Nothing changed until a friend told me all about the FDM Returners Programme.

The FDM training adheres to a high standard of quality and enhances both your professional and technical skills. The modules are well-designed, and the assignments are very helpful, whilst the trainers are supportive and have an in-depth knowledge of their subject. There was a lot of collaboration with my colleagues throughout the programme, which helped me regain my communicative skills. I enhanced my confidence and expanded my knowledge of technology – allowing me to become a JAVA developer, with previous experience as a manual tester.

I am now placed with an established financial institution and believe that FDM acts as the bridge between your career gap and returning to the workplace. The fact that the training was fully remote meant that I could look after my daughter, whilst preparing to return to the world of work. I saved a huge amount of time and was able to take care of both professional and personal responsibilities.

In short, I was lost in the ocean until I was rescued and nurtured by FDM. I feel so grateful to all the people who helped me along the way.

Karishma Charlwood 

I thoroughly enjoyed the FDM experience. The quality of the training and the knowledge of our tutors was great. Before undertaking the FDM Tech Returners Programme, I was a full-time parent and volunteered throughout my local community.

My career break started when I had my first child, in 2009. Once my three children reached school age, I started to look for paid employment that would work around holidays, so that I could be around for my family when they were at home. I did some teaching assistant training and volunteered in local schools for a short period, before realising that this was not the best use of my existing skill set. The pay was very little compared to when I used to be a Software Developer.

As a result of my break from work, I was out of touch with the latest developments in the world of software and technology. So, I kept an eye on the IT training that was being offered by companies like Firebrand. At the beginning of 2022, when the Department of Education started to provide funds for professionals to retrain to return to work in IT, I was offered a place on an 8-week Data Analysis/Technician bootcamp, which I successfully completed. Whilst I was still on the training with Firebrand, I was contacted by the Returners Team to join the first ever Tech Returners Java Programme at FDM. I pursued this opportunity and was paid from day 1 of training, which was a fantastic help!

We were given several opportunities throughout the training to work in teams, or alongside other members of the cohort to deliver a project, assignment, or presentation. We would often make time together to review concepts and revise before exams. As a group, we discovered ways of using the GitLab more effectively, to deliver coding projects collaboratively. We learnt how to deal with conflict issues and shortcomings. It certainly generated some good team building opportunities and enabled us to develop better ways of communicating with each other.

I now feel that I have all the right tools I need to kickstart a career in any software development platform that I come across in my role. In short, the FDM training programme emerged just at the right time, to help me confidently step back into a competitive workplace.

Lovli Pradhan

I joined the FDM Tech Returners Programme in 2022. Before this, I was enrolled onto an online course in selenium, whilst also attending coding challenges. I took an 8-year career break, and because of the rapid development of technology, I lost confidence in my skill set. I felt that I needed to upskill and start training, to regain my professional self-belief and return to the workplace.

There was a high level of collaboration throughout the programme. We were asked to develop a hotel management system using Java, HTML, and H2 database. We shared our knowledge and helped each other. When someone was stuck, we all offered our support to solve the issue at hand.

As a team, we carried out the code review, designed the implementation for the project, created tasks in a Kanban board, and followed agile methodology. We also distributed tasks among ourselves. This held us in good stead for returning to work.  I learned several skills throughout the programme, including the revised version of Java, new technologies, and ways of development being used in the current industry. I also felt very supported by the Returners Team. The trainers were always ready to help, whilst answering all our queries. The code walk-through and the exercises were also a great way to understand the new topics during our training.

The course was well tailored and covered all the topics required to restart my career. The professional skills week helped me improve my approach to presenting in interviews and boosted my general confidence. The FDM training was a wonderful journey. I continue to receive support and have access to study materials and recordings if I need to refer to anything. The trainers also made it clear that we could contact them whenever if we needed their help.

FDM allowed me to regain the necessary confidence to return to the workforce. I would recommend this programme to anyone looking to restart their career.

Sanddya Thangarajan

I joined FDM and undertook the Tech Returners Programme in 2022. I was a manual tester before I took a career break to look after my family. After my time off, I wanted to re-join the world of work, focusing on technology, but did not get any interviews because of the perceived lack of experience.

The FDM Tech Returners Programme is made up of 14 weeks of fast paced training for Java Developers. The programme schedule includes Core Java, Spring Boot, JPA Data access, REST API Microservices, Angular, HTML and CSS, along with foundation courses like SQL and Unix.

I faced several challenges whilst transitioning from Homemaker to Software Developer. I needed to learn how to effectively manage my time, between training, preparation for my assessment, and my family. However, my trainers and fellow teammates supported me during this phase.

There was a high level of collaboration throughout the programme. We worked on group projects as part of our training, which helped us learn how to work as a team and solve problems together. Our entire cohort was made up of a mix of people from different technical backgrounds, so when we collaborated, we learned from each other.

The programme gave me the support I needed before returning to work, with regards to technical and soft skills. The FDM training helped me prepare for interviews. Before every interview, I had a prep session which enhanced my confidence, and helped me structure my answers effectively. In short, the FDM Trainers are on hand to assist the entire cohort with their transition from the role of Homemaker to Software Developer and Homemaker!

Giusi Coppola

I originally come from Italy but have spent the last 20 years living and working in London. I went to university in Naples and carried out a PHD in Foreign Languages and Literature. Shortly after completing my degree, I moved to the UK to perfect my fluency in English.
Over the years, I have built up a wide range of experience across several sectors, including investment banking, fashion, and marketing, in roles ranging from Business Analyst to Programme Coordinator and Investor Relations. But after the birth of my kids, I took a career break and spent the next 10 years looking after my family.

During my time off, I continued to keep busy, getting involved with various projects including helping the launch of a boutique hedge-fund service. I also worked with my daughter’s primary school and developed an interest in the discipline of yoga, training as an instructor.

When I decided to return to work, I researched several returners programmes and came across FDM. When I found out they offered a fully funded training programme and a salary from day 1, I was eager to pursue this path. I am now placed as a consultant within the IT department of an international law firm, working as a Project Management Officer.

The training at FDM effectively combined both hard and soft skills. It comprised little bytes of knowledge that were useful and transferable. Coming from a non-technical background, I did find some of the modules a bit tricky, but with one week allotted per subject, it was enough time to grasp the material.

The FDM training was central to my confidence development and professional growth. I was also impressed by how in-depth it was and believe that it is the perfect platform for professional rebirth.

The recruiters have a wealth of experience and can recognise the best fit for you. They know what you’re aiming for and where your full potential will be realised. The only advice I would give is put your trust in FDM! I am coming up to my first year in my current placement and believe that FDM has given me a feeling of being part of a community, where you’re looked after and listened to.