Make IT Work: from talent to IT professional
Retraining for an IT position at higher professional education level, with a job guarantee. That is the core of Make IT Work, a unique retraining program in which training and work go hand in hand. The AUAS and De Hanze are working together to prepare highly educated talents without a specific IT background for a new career in IT.
To a new career in three to five months
Make IT Work is suitable for anyone who wants to retrain in IT, but does not have the right prior education or qualifications. In three to five months, depending on the chosen retraining direction, participants are intensively trained to become IT professionals at higher professional education level. After the training, they will start working for a minimum of six months in their new position with one of the participating employers. In this way, the training is directly linked to practice and participants not only get the knowledge and skills needed for an IT position, but also the opportunity to immediately apply that knowledge in a work environment.
A careful selection process
To determine which candidates are suitable for the intensive programme, they go through an assessment by NOA in advance. This consists of an analytical test and a questionnaire about personality traits. The assessment has been specifically compiled for Make IT Work. NOA supports the universities of applied sciences and participating employers in finding candidates who fit the process and who have opportunities to successfully make the transition to IT.
The NOA Talent Portal (NTP) is used for the selection process. Candidates can upload their motivation letter for the programme directly. The various components of the assessment and the associated test results are also accessible via the platform. In addition, the portal offers supervisors and candidates the opportunity to upload and assess CVs and other documents, download documents, view test results and retake tests, among other things. In this way, NTP brings the entire selection process together in one clear digital environment.
Research into long-term success
The selection does not stop at the completion of the training. Together with the AUAS and De Hanze, NOA will also investigate how successful candidates ultimately are in their studies and their new position. Corine Sonke, researcher at NOA: "In the coming period, we want to conduct research into how successful candidates are in their work after completing the training. Based on these results, we can adjust the decision model that determines whether a candidate is suitable for this programme. The experiences and results of participants help to further improve the selection and guidance."
From talent to IT professional: Make IT Work shows how education, employers and selection expertise can create new career opportunities together.
