ONLY £3
S B O J T S E B SES R U O C T S COOLE NEWS L AT E S T
YO U R D I G I TA L F U T U R E
issue 5
DAN TDM
7 BILLION VIEWS & COUNTING
Legends of Gaming superstar & Online Entrepreneur talks success and what lays ahead
ONLINE ENTREPRENEURS SHARING ECONOMIES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE VIRTUAL REALITY
DIGITAL EVOLUTION SPECIAL Plus...
WHERE WILL DIGITAL TAKE US?
THE FUTURE WORKPLACE ◆ AI EDUCATORS ◆ BRITAIN’S YOUTUBE SENSATIONS ◆ IS HACKING A CRIME? ◆ TOP 5 STUDY APPS ◆ SMART GLASSES ◆ DIGITAL DIRECTORY
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[our team] Techmix is published by: Digital Skills Agency Ltd 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX info@techmixmag.com Publisher Edward Baker Commercial Director James Greene Technical Director Damian Marciniec Assistant Editor Hope Lowe Sub Editor Ben Sneath Creative Direction Charlotte Mckay Nicholas Mckay Rik Hopkinson Contributing Writers Jemma Baylis Matt Dodimead Gausika Kanagaratnam Catherine Knivett Bettina Vahl Andrew Gould Assistant Producer Pauline Menini Programme Manager Ellen Kerr Special Thanks Paul Alison Vanessa Butz Nicola Cavalazzi Dan Chaput Luke Chaput Adam Cooper Nik Fisher Jessica Heale Toby Hurd Scott Lowe Gavin Lucas RJ Noble Jack Parsons Justin Squires Arjeta Xhemajli Cover image Endemol Shine Group Printers Wyndeham Press Group Distribution The Education Company
Hello! “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today” according to Malcolm X. In this edition of Techmix, we dust off the crystal ball and gaze forward to explore the digital evolution that’s shaping the world of work and transforming our online lives. We invite leading experts and organisations to share their thoughts on what the future holds for you. Can you remember your first job? Mine, was on the fruit and veg stall in my local market. I hated the early morning 5am starts, but I loved the hustle and bustle, the buying and selling. The market supplied the local community, employed hundreds of people and provided a central focus for life in the town. But as people’s habits change, and technology makes it easier to buy your groceries online, community markets are becoming less popular. A modern block of flats now sits on the land where I used to work and I wonder how my old employer prepared for this change.
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Jack Par sons @ recruitm entjack I wish th e @Tech mixMag Careers Show to D ok place igital ago the 6 years Iw path #Lo as deciding my career nCareers 16 #tech #ceo
While you may not order your groceries online, you are already part of the digital evolution: perhaps you’ve rented a room through Airbnb, used your smartphone to hail an Uber taxi, sold something on Fiverr or learnt a new skill on YouTube. Where there is change, there is opportunity - this edition of Techmix gives you an insight to the opportunity ahead. To help you prepare yourself, we’re proud to be hosting the Mayor of London’s Digital Careers Roadshow at the Olympic Park, which connects you to the world’s best digital, creative and media employers. Read our preview on page 28, and register for free.
Anissa eL
Dutton
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areers16 N #LonC ions for ouseLD is h d ec n d y ou @R ith m ed me w has help re the futu
Edward Baker, Publisher
KEEP UP TO DATE AT TECHMIXMAG.COM Apply for the best digital, creative and media jobs Secure your place on the UK’s hottest courses Read the latest news in tech and innovation Get your guide for the best upcoming events www.TechmixMag.com @TechmixMag facebook.com/TechmixMag Techmix is published by Digital Skills Agency Ltd Digital Skills Agency Ltd, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX. All rights reserved. Copyright © Digital Skills Agency Ltd 2016. Printed by Wyndeham Press Group. Techmix is distributed by The Education Company. Whilst every care is taken, prices and details are subject to change and the publisher does not take responsibility for omissions or errors. Techmix does not take responsibility for unsolicited material. Permission to use any of the material contained in this magazine and associated websites should be obtained from Digital Skills Agency Ltd. The views expressed by contributors and advertisers in this publication and on our website do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial team or the publisher.
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Legends of Gaming
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Artificial Intelligence
Dan TheDiamondMinecart
CONTENTS 19
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Digital Evolution
Virtual Reality
More... 4 BIG PICTURE Step into the virtual world of tomorrow
36 THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
6 MEGABYTES
CISCO’s tog dog tells us why companies must be ready for a digital world
Hot tech news in byte-sized chunks
12 DEMO DAY Want to edit videos like a pro? Knock Knock Productions reviews Lightworks Pro
15 GRAD LIFE What is life really like on the graduate scheme of a leading I.T. company?
25 JOBS JURY
49 DIGITAL DIRECTORY Specialist courses only for digital lovers
58 YOU’RE HIRED An insight into apprenticeships reveals what it’s like to leave education and start career in media
60 THE FUTURE WORKPLACE
The skills you’ll need in the future workplace
Why creatives, techies, start-ups and entrepreneurs are flocking to a new kind of working space
27 BIG DEBATE
64 LOOKING AHEAD
Is hacking a crime?
A peak at the top tech events near you
WELCOME TO TOMORROW’S
WORLD Are you ready to enter a world where virtual reality IS a reality. Immersive media, virtual classrooms, plug-in medical surgeries, journeys to ancient ruins, dives into ocean depths, flights into the future... A world of endless possibility. Turn to Page 22 for more on virtual reality.
Don’t just play. Live the game. Pictured: PlayStation®VR launches October 2016, pre-order now
Photo Credit: Andy Day / kiell.com
Š2016 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. Design and specifications are subject to change without notice.
M E G A BY T ES YOUNG, TALENTED AND FILTHY RICH 25 years young, the co-founder and CEO of Snapchat, Evan Spiegel has topped the charts as the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. He has an estimated worth of $1.8 billion - not bad for a digital brand that’s only five years old! Spiegel has already proven himself to be a talented business man, and with ideas as good as Snapchat, who knows what the future holds.
BRAINTECH TO CONNECT YOU… WITH YOUR BRAIN Ever wanted to unleash Jedi mind powers in a stressful work meeting? Well, there’s a brain activity tracker for that. Emotiv Insight is a sleek, five-channel, wireless headset which sharpens your mind by reading your brainwaves to improve your focus and stress management, while also measuring and monitoring your cognitive health and wellbeing. Not bad, eh? www.emotiv.com
ERIC: THE TIN MAN REBORN Eric was born in 1928. Orphaned, the second of his race and made of aluminium, he was the UK’s first robot. Eric is one of a kind, and is the whole reason for our stereotypical image of the ‘tin man’ robot. London Science Museum is on a mission to Eric back to life with the latest tech. Join the kickstarter to help fundraise, and watch out for the History of Robots exhibition, opening Feb 2017. www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
‘SMART LEG’ MAKES ENGINEERING PRIZE SHORTLIST WOMEN POWER COMING TO EMOJIS Good news for women in tech; Google is fighting for a new selection of emojis that represent women in business. The little yellow ladies have been mocked up and include women in healthcare, science, manual industries and technology. If approved by Unicode, emoji’s governing body, women power could be hitting our phones as soon as late 2016.
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Basingstoke firm Blatchford, have created The Linx Limb. This innovative leg designed for amputees uses a network of sensors, a Bluetooth link and calibration software train the leg to match the patient’s walk. Pretty neat for a knee! So neat, in fact, the geniuses behind it have been shortlisted for the prestigious MacRobert Award. www.linx.endolite.co.uk
megabytes news
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GOING UP GOING DOWN ▼ s UP: Tim Peake
DRIVING LICENCES GO DIGITAL We’ve all been there, but no matter how it happened, the tale you’ll always keep to is: ‘Mo-om, someone stole my wallet!’. But the next time that happens (which is won’t, obviously), you might not need to pay out the £50 to get your driving licence replaced because it may well be on your smartphone! DVLA says it’s still at prototype stage so better keep your wallet extra safe until 2018.
CARPOOL KARAOKE FOR THE MASSES We’ve all heard of carpool, but Waze riding is taking it to work. Currently testing it on professionals in the San Francisco Bay area, automatically pairing people to share rides based on their home and work addresses, as well as their ideal departure time. Note: singing, celebrities and James Corden must be sought separately. www.waze.com
MARS EXPLORATION AS SOON AS 2018 In collaboration with NASA, SpaceX has announced plans to send Falcon 9, along with its uncrewed delivery capsule Red Dragon, to Mars within the next 24 months. The mission aims to collect data which will inform designs for future missions which will eventually result in establishing a human colony on the planet.
MARK ZUCKERBERG’S NEW PA By the end of 2016, Mark Zuckerberg plans to build his own artificial intelligence system to act has his personal assistant. Like the Jarvis to his Iron Man. As well as organizing and managing his schedule, he wants this system to control his home technology, open the front door to his friends and babysit his daughter.
IS HYPERLOOP THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL? Designed by business titan Elon Musk, Hyperloop is set to be the next generation of transport. Futuristic oneperson pods are fired through vacuum tubes which will stretch the length of California, reaching over 600mph. Along with reducing travel times, the plans show it to use far less energy than trains. You can bet this will be just slightly better than the log flume at Thorpe Park.
GB’s first astronaut to live on the International Space Station is almost at the end of his 6-month stint in zero-gravity. Alongside his regular astronaut duties, he’s been inspiring a whole nation. Conducting raspberry pi experiments live with science classes, sending seeds of rocket down to thousands of schools, and running the London marathon are just three missions he has added by himself. 18th June is the date that Tim returns to home to his family, a hero forever more.
s UP: George Hotz
26-year-old George Hotz has built a self-driving car in his garage using tech he’s bought in the supermarket. Having turned down a job at Tesla, he plans to single-handedly take on both Tesla and Google in the race to make safe autonomous cars for the masses. His start-up company Vicarious is already causing a stir across San Francisco.
t DOWN: Britain’s Broadband High-speed internet connection will one day be seen as a basic necessity alongside food and water. Many large corporations have ambitious schemes to ensure everyone has access, including the UK Government. They have launched the Universal Service Obligation which will bring high speed broadband to 95% of the nation. The problem is, the current plans leave out over 1million households in rural areas.
t DOWN: Flash Player The video and animation plug in will be blocked by default by Google Chrome as of next year. After years of being phased out by companies like Apple who have blocked it from iPhones and iPads, Google’s decision will pretty much kill the software’s use on the internet completely. Even Adobe, the company that make flash player, are telling people to stop using it!
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SEE THE STARS IN ACTION! Watch them play live and meet them in person at Alexandra Palace on 10-11 September 2016. Get tickets here www.legendsofgaming.co.uk /tickets
BRITAIN’S YOUTEUNSBATEIONS S
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ouTube.com is reigning supreme as the second most popular website in the world, and it’s only 11 years old. The platform has pioneered the way we share information and is the go-to platform for hobbyists and entrepreneurs to showcase their talent on a global stage. Now in 2016, YouTube is becoming recognised as a viable career option thanks to the talented British online entrepreneurs who have built up their success one view at a time. And amongst this talent, it’s gaming that’s ruling the digital waves.
the best of the best are getting together for this year’s hottest gaming event: Legends of Gaming Live.
Of Britain’s top ten channels, a huge six of those are gamers, and the statistics speak for themselves: Ali-A has more subscribers than Ed Sheeran, Syndicate out-pits the mighty Adele for subscribers, and Dan TDM has ranked up more views than even Beyoncé can. The UK has a huge roster of talent, and
We chatted to three Legends who between them have amassed a humongous fan base with over 14.7 million subscribers and 3.3 billion views. Ali-A, LDShadowLady and Spencer FC, are the self-made millionaires of the future and they told us what it really takes to become a British YouTube sensation.
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Last year, Legends of Gaming Live went down in the history books with Guinness World Records being smashed live on stage. Ali-A raised the roof when he left his Call of Duty comfort zone and still set the record for ‘Most wood collected on Minecraft in three minutes’. With another epic line-up, expect more of the same from this year’s event on 10-11 September.
iamgeorgethepoet.co.uk
digital evolution
BIO: NAME: ALASTAIR AIKEN AGE: 22 YOUTUBE STATS: CHANNELS: Ali-A / More Ali-A SUBSCRIBERS: 10.8 million (May 2016) VIEWS: 2.3 billion (May 2016) JOINED: 13 September 2006 (12 years) CONTENT: Call of Duty gamer SCHEDULE: 1-2 video uploads per day TOTAL VIDEOS: 3,000+
Legends of Gaming superstar, Ali-A is a YouTube sensation who has turned himself into a successful brand, loved by millions. We caught up with him to hear how exactly he became one of the most successful British gamers in the world. Hi Ali, as one of the world’s most successful gamers, we want to know the secrets to your success! What’s most impressive for us is that you must be supertalented across many disciplines from technical skills like filming and editing to natural skills like creativity. How did you learn to your skill set? That’s actually a really good question; appreciating that there’s more to making content than just being good at playing games is something that not many people grasp. Per video, the majority of my time is spent sat at the PC either editing or designing thumbnails, rather than playing the games you see in the videos. Having those technical skills is a huge part of being a successful YouTuber, and all of these have been self-taught – ironically by watching other YouTubers! I’ve come from a background of knowing nothing, which shows that as long as you have the passion, you can learn skills on your own and create your own opportunities. I hope that is inspiring to anyone reading this, and makes YouTube seem more accessible. Being solely responsible for the content means you get back what you put in – how much time does it take you to create each video that you upload? From coming up with the idea to finishing the video, I’d say the minimum time would be three hours. But on the flip side, videos that take longer to edit and film can take several days.
FUN FACTS: • In November 2015, Ali-A was the second most ‘Newly subscribed to’ solo channel on YouTube • Ali-A’s YouTube channel averages 85 million views every month • In June 2015, Ali-A won two Guinness World Records: ‘Most popular Call of Duty video channel by subscribers’ and ‘Most popular Call of Duty video channel by views’ Normally the more time put in leads to better content and better performing videos, but that’s not always the case – YouTube definitely isn’t predictable! It goes beyond just the videos for you though, tell us about how you managed to establish yourself as a successful and distinctive brand? So my YouTube URL ends /Matroix which is the name I gave the channel in 2006. But when I first started producing videos in 2009, I decided that name wasn’t distinctive enough or relatable to who I was. So I came up with Ali-A by merging my first name with my surname initial, then with some help with an American designer I met over Skype, we designed my original Ali-A logo. This made my YouTube avatar, an animated intro and in-video overlay for all of my content. Now, when you watch any of my videos, you know exactly who I am and what you’re about to watch. The design has evolved since then, but the ‘brand’ has stayed the same. The fans seem to like it as it’s something they can associate with. Lastly, as the reigning champion of LoG, who do you think is your biggest competition ahead of September’s event? The new line-up of LoG competitors is stronger than it’s ever been before. The standout competitor for me though is Mantrousse because of his all-round gaming skills and ability to fight off all the other next gen LoG competitors in the previous season. I’m going to keep an eye out for him...
iamgeorgethepoet.co.uk
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Representing the girls, LDShadowLady is one of the leading Minecraft gamers in the UK. Ahead of Legends of Gaming Live, she chatted to us about her online world, how she keeps her content fresh and how she continues to grow her fan base.
BIO: NAME: LIZZIE AGE: 23 YOUTUBE STATS: CHANNELS: LDShadowLady / More LDShadowLady SUBSCRIBERS: 1.9 million (May 2016) VIEWS: 560 million (May 2016) JOINED: 9 January 2010 (six years) CONTENT: Minecraft gamer SCHEDULE: Four videos per week TOTAL VIDEOS: 800+ FUN FACTS: • Has a degree in Computer Animation and Visualisation • Started the Pixel Pact, a team of talented female YouTube stars playing Minecraft together, aiming to inspire young women into gaming
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At 23, and after only five years of creating YouTube videos, you’ve managed to gain a very impressive following. What do you do to ensure interest in your channel and your fan base continues to grow? I’m always keeping up with what is relevant and popular in the YouTube gaming community. It’s important to adapt your content in order to retain your audience and jump on some popular trends to attract new viewers. With over 790 videos already, and continuing to upload an average of four per week, how do you keep your content fresh and exciting? I only make videos when I’m feeling inspired and motivated. I find that this helps me produce videos that I’m proud to share and my subscribers seem to enjoy them more because of that. On your website you say your success is largely down to people giving you a chance. Back in 2011 when you started, how did you fit in setting up your YouTube channel alongside studying or a job? When I first started YouTube it was nothing more than a hobby and I never imagined it would make me any money, never mind turning it into a job! YouTube was my creative outlet and I was happy devoting all my spare time to making videos. Is your channel now your only job? If so, how long did it take for it to grow successful enough to be a full-time job for you? My channel has been growing pretty steadily over the past five years. I kept working on improving my channel during university and it helped me fund my studies. When I graduated I decided to take on YouTube full-time and make the most of it while I can. This is your first time coming to Legends of Gaming, what are you most excited about? I’ve never taken part in any kind of competitive gaming before. I’m not exactly the most skilled gamer, but I’m excited about having some fun with the challenges even if I fail!
digital evolution
Legends of Gaming star and FIFA master Spencer FC chats to us about how he turned YouTube into a successful career and expanding into new ventures.
BIO: NAME: SPENCER OWEN AGE: 27 YOUTUBE STATS: CHANNELS: Spencer FC / Spencer and Alex SUBSCRIBERS: 1.3 million (May 2016) VIEWS: 399 million (May 2016) JOINED: 4 March 2013 (three years) CONTENT: FIFA gamer and football vlogger SCHEDULE: One FIFA video per day at least TOTAL VIDEOS: 800+ FUN FACTS: • Spencer FC provides the voice of the tutorials on FIFA 16 • He created his own tournament called the Wembley Cup series, where YouTubers and real players competed at Wembley • In October 2015, Spencer FC was named the eighth most influential YouTuber in Great Britain • Presenter of the Spencer FC Podcast
Having only started up Spencer FC three years ago, you’ve already amassed 1.3m subscribers – pretty impressive! What were you doing before you set up Spencer FC? Before Spencer FC I had a normal job! I worked in production for another YouTube channel, I also used to shoot and edit videos for people. All my jobs after university were football-related in some way and once I started concentrating my YouTube content around my love of football, things really began to take off. Is this now your full-time job, if so for how long? I left full-time employment in July 2013 but continued to freelance for other companies until around April 2014. So for just over two years my YouTube channel(s) have been my full-time job. You’ve managed to create a successful brand for yourself and established an impressive following. Do you see your YouTube channel as a viable long-term career? I’m excited to see where YouTube goes as a platform over the next few years. There’s a few different directions it could take and that will hugely effect the creators that make a living on it. Right now I’m happy to commit to the idea of making YouTube content for the foreseeable future as I love doing it. The challenge is to keep making fresh original content that people want to see and that’s what I enjoy doing most – so I’m going to stick at it! You’re expanding out into things like the Wembley Cup series and tutorials for FIFA and podcasts, what’s next for you? One big project I’m working on right now is my new club Hashtag United. It’s a real-life football team as well as an eSports team. I’m just finishing a series called the Spencer FC Game Academy, in which I went through over 10,000 entrants to find one gamer to sign for Hashtag United as a Pro FIFA player. There’s a lot of exciting plans for both the football side and the eSports side of Hashtag United coming up, so watch this space! What are you most excited about for Legends of Gaming Live in September? I think it will be great to have all the ‘legends’ together and also to meet some of the viewers who allow us to live this crazy life... Should be an awesome event! 11 11
GETTING STARTED AS A DIY VIDEOGRAPHER TAKES PASSION, ENTHUSIASM AND A WHOLE LOTTA TECH. BUT WITH SO MANY CHOICES OF EDITING SOFTWARE OUT THERE, WHICH DO YOU CHOOSE? WE GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE LIGHTWORKS PRO FOR A SPIN AND ROPED IN MATT DODIMEAD FROM KNOCK KNOCK FOR THE PROFESSIONAL’S OPINION.
DEMOwith DAY
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VIEW Pro X are front-runners in the professional world, but these come with a hefty price tag and aren’t the easiest to pick up if you’re starting out. But being a beginner shouldn’t mean you have to compromise on quality, so we want to find out if there’s a happy medium? Lightworks Pro was used to cut The Wolf of Wall Street and The Nutty Professor so it’s got a pretty good rep and yet it costs a fraction of price compared with others on the market. For us, we are looking for a good all-rounder. Something that’s easy to use and not too complex, but has a decent range of features to play with and produces great quality output.
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Video editing software is a fiercely competitive market and one which is much like the Apple vs Windows vs Linux battle, once you’ve chosen a side you’re likely to stick with the one you know. For newbies, budding videographers or just part-time tinklers, there’s a minefield of choice and all come with a hefty price tag – so the one you choose better be right. For us, we are looking for a good all-rounder Something that’s easy to use and not too complex, but has a decent range of features to play with and produces great quality output.
The first and best thing we found about Lightworks Pro is that you don’t need to be an editing guru to pick it up and learn how to use its features. It works in a logical way so once you’ve got used to the software and its interface, it’s fun and easy to learn more features and refine your technique.
It’s not as savvy-looking as it could be, but looks aren’t everything and if it keeps the price-tag down a bit then we’re willing to overlook its need for a face-lift.
ideo editing software is a fiercely competitive market and one which is much like the Apple vs Windows vs Linux battle, once you’ve chosen a side you’re likely to stick with the one you know. For newbies, budding videographers or just part-time tinklers, there’s a minefield of choice. First things first, you want a non-linear editing system (NLE) because it retains the footage quality no matter how many edits you make. The big names like Adobe Premiere, Avid and Apple’s Final Cut
VERDICT To give it a proper trial, we used Lightworks Pro to cut our video of the last Digital Careers Show and, well, we’re pretty happy with it to say the least. The video is slick and the quality is excellent (if we do say so ourselves!), take a look for yourself… https://goo.gl/9rj0Bs 12
DESIGN: SOPHISTICATION: QUALITY: VALUE FOR MONEY:
www.lwks.com
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digital evolution
THE PROFESSIONAL VIEW
Matt Dodimead, Senior Post-Production Editor at Knock Knock London
The first thing we noticed when logging in to Lightworks Pro is that its appearance is quite different from your standard NLE’s, and the design looks old and dated. While looks aren’t everything, they do help form opinions and the current Lightworks Pro user interface makes it look like it was left behind in the 1990s! By far the best feature in Lightworks Pro are the trimming tools. I thought Avid was in a league of its own on this but when it comes to refining your edit, Lightworks Pro really does give it a run for its money. Marking clips and building your edit is lightning fast, which is incredible for such a light piece of software. When building scenes VERDICT Would we consider moving to Lightworks Pro in the future? At the moment it’s unlikely we’d make that step because our team are comfortable with the current set-up. However, providing the Lightworks Pro keeps developing and becomes more widely used in the industry, there’s no reason why we wouldn’t look at using it in the future.
At Knock Knock, we create everything from TV commercials and branded online content to corporate films and TV documentaries, so it’s fair to say we are a flexible team. Our current NLE of choice is Adobe Premiere, as it offers us good integration with other Adobe software, handles a comprehensive array of codecs and is great for quick turnaround projects. Having said that, it has a few odd bugs that drive us to distraction (duplicating sequences, I’m looking at you) – but for the most part it serves us well. So when we were offered to take Lightworks Pro for a spin and found out it was used to cut The Nutty Professor, we simply had to try it out for ourselves! it’s easy to see why it has been used on a large number of features. ‘Mark and park’ means you don’t have to do a lot to get your clip into your sequence. Another great feature is the way it references media when searching in bins. It has similar functionality to Final Cut Pro X’s search feature, which allows media to be referenced by date added to your project. This is especially useful for long projects where the edit starts before the shoot completely wraps.
DESIGN: SOPHISTICATION: QUALITY: VALUE FOR MONEY:
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FOOTBALL GOES DIGITAL The Chelsea Foundation brings its A-team of teachers and digital leaders to coach a whole lot more than just the off-side rule.
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helsea Foundation Digital Camp kicked off to a great start in February, teaming up with Wipro IT specialists and Lynda.com the online learning providers to train a special few who are passionate about both football and technology. Not set on just being one of the world’s leading football clubs, Chelsea FC has established and supported the Chelsea Foundation, with the overarching aim of using the power of sport to motivate, educate and inspire. Seeing that the future is digital, Chelsea Foundation’s most recent opportunity is the Digital Camp. This two-day program brings students from disadvantaged areas of west London in through the gates of Stamford Bridge to learn skills directly from leading businesses and Chelsea football coaches. Chelsea Foundation head of education Matt Mead added: “Our aim is to help kids realize their potential, inspire them to make decisions in life they might not have seen as an option. Through tapping into a love for football, we hope to ignite passion for other subjects and create more possibilities for the attendees of Digital Camp.” Football lovers got the chance to train and play near the home of Stamford Bridge, and engage in digital projects they might not otherwise actively seek. Whilst lovers of digital gain skills and first-hand knowledge from industry leaders, and the chance to develop their career pathways. February was the first successful Digital Camp, as Chelsea Foundation channels love for the game into love for digital futures. Get involved email matt.mead@chelseafc.com (Matt Mead – Head of Education)
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matt.mead@chelseafc.com
GRAD LIFE:
THE TRUTH ABOUT BEING ON AN I.T. GRADUATE SCHEME L
eaving education and choosing your next direction in life might feel as terrifying as finding a live dinosaur egg on Shaftsbury Avenue and being asked to single-handedly re-populate the Earth with dinosaurs. We’ve been there. But Techmix is your guiding hand. With help from our friends across the industry, we’re here to give you a detailed insight into what options there are and what it’s really like to do each one. To talk us through life on a graduate scheme, we chatted to recent grad Bettina about her experience on the Juniper Networks Graduate Scheme. Hi Bettina, tell us, how did you get a place on the Juniper Networks Graduate Scheme? I applied for the Juniper graduate scheme through a graduate recruitment company and secured my place after passing some initial interviews and attending an assessment day. I have always been interested in I.T. due to its innovative and constantly changing nature, despite only having general technological knowledge. What’s your current title and role? My current title is Partner Account Manager, which means I focus on building strong relationships with our partners to help them continue to drive and grow Juniper’s business. My role is highly varied – I assist our partners with the planning and development of marketing campaigns and events around Juniper Networks, update them on our solutions and promotions, and make sure they use the broad range of Juniper resources available to them in order to grow and be successful.
BETTINA VAHL, 24 Partner Account Manager Juniper Networks Graduate Scheme Has there been a stand-out moment of your experience on the graduate scheme so far? Within the first month of working at Juniper, my team and I got to meet Juniper CEO, Rami Rahim, at a company event in Cannes which was a great experience. Rami is charismatic, yet down to earth, and it was interesting to hear his vision for Juniper. What’s the best thing about working at Juniper? Everyone at Juniper, including senior management, is approachable and helpful, which has made a huge difference in settling into the job. Being part of the graduate team, consisting of seven members in the UK, has been great because we are all new to the industry and have been learning and developing together. It’s been great working in such a supportive environment where there is always someone to ask questions of and discuss ideas with. I’ve also made great new friends on the job! What advice would you give anyone leaving education, looking to make their first leap into the industry? Don’t be put off by the idea of a career in I.T. because you feel that you lack technological knowledge. I.T. is full of interesting people who have a wide range of skills – it is not just the technology that makes it such an innovative and exciting industry to work in. Anyone who is enthusiastic and willing to learn new things is able to find a suitable role within I.T. There are so many different roles and so many different personalities within Juniper alone. The facts: Bettina graduated from University of Leeds in 2015 with a 2:1 in International Relations. She enjoys running, yoga, event planning and helping social enterprises.
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Our graduates have gone on to work for major industry players: Aston Martin
Pixar
GlaxoSmithKline
Microsoft
Framestore
Jaguar
Sky sports
Dyson
Preparing you for a career in the rapidly-changing creative and technical industries. Find your course online at tees.ac.uk/study
Artwork: Hexbridge Castle, Katie Alexander, MA Concept Art for Games and Animation
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Each video takes over six hours to produce, and he tells us that coming up with fresh ideas to make each video unique can take a large chunk of time even before he starts making the video itself. So to keep up his regular upload schedule of 1-2 videos per day, he needs to dedicate full-time hours to his work.
WORK HARD, PLAY HARD: DAN
• Followed by over 12 million YouTube subscribers.
THEDIAMONDMINECART, THE SELF-MADE SUCCESS
• A Guinness world record holder.
W
ith the rise of on-demand TV and YouTube being dubbed as the TV of the future, the question of the moment seems to be: can I turn my online hobby into a successful career? Techmix chatted to British YouTube sensation and online entrepreneur Dan TheDiamondMinecart, about his thoughts on the future for YouTube at the beginning of its recognition era as a viable career platform, and what’s next for him. Dan Middleton is man of many definitions. He is: • A 24-year-old from Hampshire. • Married, with two pugs. • A Minecraft gamer and vlogger. • Creator of two highly successful YouTube channels.
• Viewed over seven billion times.
• Winner of a Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Award. • One of the highest paid YouTube stars in the world. And yet when you meet him, he could be the guy from next door; down to earth and humble, but incredibly switched on. This is a common trait of a selfmade online success. Through sheer skill and dedication, he has grown his following, his salary, and his skills, all from the comfort of his bedroom. Being a YouTube star is often seen as an easy career option, but it takes a huge amount of talent, passion and business acumen to build a hobby up from nothing into a successful business.
Being a DIY film-maker, Dan has to be on top of his game across all of the skills needed to create a video. Yes, he might write down ‘Gamer’ on his CV, but to make high-quality videos, he is self-taught and highly skilled as a creative, script writer, actor, producer, designer, editor and marketer. So the question now, is what’s next for TheDiamondMinecart? He’s built up a world-class gaming channel and established himself as a talented vlogger all by the age of 24. So what does the future hold? The next stop is Dan TDM: The UK Tour. Starting in July, he takes his crazy life on the road, to meet and inspire fans into creating their own success stories. Bright-eyed with excitement, Dan was thrilled about this new venture: “I’m so excited to be going on my first ever live tour. I can’t wait to bring my online world to life and invite the audience to come on a DanTDM adventure with me. I hope to meet as many fans as possible along the way and show them what it’s like to live in my world.” The DanTDM tour kicks off at the Brighton Dome on July 30, before heading up to Glasgow King’s Theatre for August 6, then hitting Ipswich Regent on August 13 and rounding off at Milton Keynes Theatre on August 28. Tickets start at £15 and have sold out for this summer stage of the tour but more dates are being added! Keep your eyes peeled for more updates on www.dantdmtour.com/tickets.
Progressing from his bedroom to a home studio with a state-of-theart setup, Dan works hard to ensure that the business he has created for himself can continue to be his career.
17
18
DIGITAL
“The future of the web depends on ordinary people taking responsibility for this extraordinary resource and challenging those who seek to manipulate the web against the public good.”
EVOLUTION
- Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the Internet
AN INTRODUCTION
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it… Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”
- Steve Jobs, Co-founder and CEO of Apple
he norms of our society are constantly evolving and changes in attitudes, new discoveries, new inventions, and many other factors all have an impact. Meanwhile, these changes take years to become embedded into society as what we think of as ‘normal’.
T
On October 29 1969, British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the Internet. Now, a mere 27 years later, we are very firmly a digital race. Trying to imagine life without smartphones, laptops, email and Wi-Fi somehow seems inconceivable. The Internet of Things has been described as the fourth Industrial Revolution, and people with digital skills are described as having “The Digital Advantage” over people without. There are some mind-boggling predictions being made by the world’s smartest and most powerful. Let’s take a look closer look into the future of three key areas: the sharing economy, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality.
“We are still in the very beginnings of the Internet. Let’s use it wisely.”
- Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
“The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.”
- Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft
“Everyone gets smarter because of this technology… and the empowerment of people is the secret to technological progress.”
- Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google
SHARING ECONOMY THE DIGITAL WORLD HAS REVOLUTIONISED THE WAY WE SHOP AND THE WAY WE WORK . WITH ONLINE MARKETPLACES BECOMING EVER MORE POPULAR, WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SHARING ECONOMY AND WHY IT’S ON THE RISE .. THE SHARING ECONOMY IS AN ONLINE MARKETPLACE THAT ALLOWS PEER-TO - PEER LENDING OR ACCESS TO GOODS AND SERVICES .. hat is a sharing economy, we hear you ask?! Ever heard of Airbnb? Freecycle? Wikipedia? Well if you’ve used one of those, then you’ve used the sharing economy. Simply defined, the sharing economy is an online marketplace that allows peer-to-peer lending or access to goods and services.
W
The concept of sharing goods and services is by no means a new one. Businesses share services, farmers share machinery, and people have been swapping trade services for food or other goods since we were cavemen. What makes the sharing economy unique is that it’s all done over the internet. Technology can be isolating, but at the click of a button you are connected to all types of people from across the world.
Feeling valued within a community is hard-wired into us as human beings. It’s in our DNA. We long to feel needed within a group, to feel that we can contribute something valuable to others. The sharing economy allows us to share something we have that’s valuable, with people in need across the world. Feeling trusted, and giving trust, is also a basic human desire. When we trust, we feel happiness. There are many reasons not to trust on the Internet, when the personal connection is lost and a world of unknown trolls and hackers is exposed. But the sharing economy trades on trust; people share their homes, their money, their knowledge and many other things. And that trust is making us feel good.
With the rise of mega marketplaces, millions of us are sharing our homes, our furniture, our cars, our knowledge and even our money every single day. We are creating communities online, building bonds and establishing relationships between people who can offer something – anything – of value to The sharing economy is spanning another. What the company behind each brings to the table is a central point for into the world of work too, with online marketplaces for freelancers offering all to communicate and exchange from. professional services. Looking back, your parent’s generation had one job for Let’s take Freecycle as an example. their entire lives, you will have around The concept is easy: recycle your seven long-term jobs in your life, but unwanted possessions, or acquire new your kids will have seven jobs at a time. possessions for free. Share with others Migrating work online means that we across the world over an internet are becoming more flexible in the way marketplace. we work. It’s time to be unpinned from our desks, follow our dreams and work on our own terms. The sharing economy is a proven success. The reasons it will continue Turn to page 30 for an in-depth look to grow come down to the two key into the world-leading marketplace for things that it’s able to create online: freelance workers: Fiverr. community spirit and trust.
SHARING ECONOMIES ACROSS THE INDUSTRIES TECH Sharing digital storage
PROPERTY AGRICULTURE
Sharing material possessions
Sharing space, resources or produce
Freecycle
Seed Swap, WeFarm
EDUCATION Sharing information from expert to student
SkillSesh, Khan Academy
Cloud Computing
TRANSPORT
REAL ESTATE
Sharing transportation
FINANCE
Sharing accomodation
Sharing capital for worthy investments
AirBNB, Couchsurfing
Uber, Carpool, Justpark
Crowdfunder, Kickstarter
INFORMATION Sharing knowledge
Wikipedia
LABOUR
TRAVEL
Sharing professional services
Sharing local knowledge
Fiverr, TaskRabbit
Toursbylocals
digital evolution sport ne constant in the fictional future is AI. Talking robots (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Wall-E), deep-learning machines smarter than humans (Star Trek, Star Wars), and emotionally intelligent humanoid robots (Ex Machina, iRobot). Sci-fi box office hits like these have shaped our views of what AI will look like, but only cover a narrow view of the AI that we are really capable of creating.
ARTIFICIAL O INTELLIGENCE THE FACT THAT (AI) WILL HAVE MONUMENTAL INFLUENCE IN THE FUTURE IS UNDISPUTED. BUT THE FULL EXTENT TO HOW IT WILL IMPACT OUR DAILY LIVES IS FAR FROM REALISED. . 2016 HAS ALREADY BEEN A MILESTONE YEAR IN THE FIELD, AND WE TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE LEADING RESEARCHER ’’ PREDICTIONS FOR WHAT’ ’ S NEXT ON THE HORIZON . ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS DEFINED AS: THE THEORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS ABLE TO PERFORM TASKS NORMALLY REQUIRING HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, SUCH AS VISUAL PERCEPTION, SPEECH RECOGNITION, DECISION-MAKING, AND TRANSLATION BETWEEN LANGUAGES .
BY THE
2020’S
DISEASES, INCLUDING CANCER, WILL BE CURED AS NANOBOTS BECOME SMARTER THAN CURRENT MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY NORMAL HUMAN EATING WILL BE REPLACED BY NANOSYSTEMS
SELF-DRIVING CARS WILL TAKE OVER THE ROADS
Being able to fully understand the human brain, how it works and how to recreate it outside of the human body has and will always fascinate us as a race. With the world’s smartest neuroscientists dedicated to building neural net models of the brain, the technology we have already developed is mind-blowing and the possibilities of AI are growing exponentially. Neural net models are developed using algorithms, which enable the system to learn from examples and make judgements without having the results inputted. A system which is able to do this is called a deep-learning machine, and these algorithms are so advanced that often even their creators aren’t sure how specific decisions are reached. Already, 2016 has been a milestone year for AI. At the forefront of this is Google DeepMind’s latest project: AlphaGo. The deep-learning system taught itself how to play Go: the world’s most difficult board game. And then it beat the world champion. Lead
2030’S HIGH-SPEED INTERNET WILL HAVE UNIVERSAL REACH MIND UPLOADING BECOMES SUCCESSFUL NANOMACHINES IN THE BRAIN WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO “TELEPATHICALLY” COMMUNICATE WITH COMPUTERS AND EACH OTHER
and health tech special researcher David Silver explained: “AlphaGo learns for itself and improves from self-play.” Speaking about the achievement, Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind, said: “Our hope is that in the future we can apply these techniques to other challenges - from instant translation to smartphone assistants to advances in healthcare.” This achievement does not only apply to board games; it represents a huge advancement in creating a system which is smarter than humans. This can now be applied to many other areas of life. Jin-Hyung Kim, AI expert at KAIST, interpreted the win by saying, “AlphaGo’s win could be referred to as the introduction of a smart servant. Smart AI makes our life more convenient.” Already, developments within AI are embedded into our lives, going unnoticed by most of us. When we make a search on Google, the AI system Hummingbird searches through the trillions of pages to find the most relevant to your search. AI and machine learning are the future of Google search and so much more. It’s developing fast, so what can we expect for the future of AI? To read more about AI, turn to page 34 where Alison Vincent, Chief Technology Officer of CISCO, discusses the future for AI within the classroom
2040’S NON-BIOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE WILL BE A BILLION TIMES MORE CAPABLE THAN BIOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE ( I.E. HUMANS )
2050’S WE WILL LINK OUR BRAINS WIRELESSLY TO A SYNTHETIC NEOCORTEX OF INFORMATION IN THE CLOUD, INCREASING OUR INTELLIGENCE A BILLION-FOLD
NANOTECH FOGLETS WILL MAKE FOOD AND ANY OTHER OBJECT FROM THIN AIR
21
he ability to enter an alternative world has arrived. With obvious advantages for the gamers and film buffs, 2016 is a headline year for VR headsets. Buy a Google Cardboard now for £15 and turn your smartphone into a VR headset. At the higher end of the market, Facebook’s Oculus Rift was launched to critical acclaim in March and Sony’s Playstation VR will be out for release in October. Entering a virtual world is already becoming a household commodity, with particular appeal to teenage gamers. But it opens up vast opportunity that goes so much further than just the entertainment industry.
VIRTUAL T REALITY TECHNOLOGY IS ON THE CUSP OF ALLOWING US TO ENTER ALTERNATIVE WORLDS, AND EXPERIENCE THINGS WE WOULD ONLY EVER DREAM OF.. HEADSETS HITTING THE SHELVES LATER THIS YEAR HAVE ALREADY BEEN PRE- ORDERED IN THEIR THOUSANDS. VIRTUAL REALITY. (VR) IS HERE TO STAY AND IT’S GOING TO IMPACT MORE THAN JUST THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY.
Set to have a huge impact on the way we learn, virtual classrooms are already being established. Being connected face-to-face with experts, tutors, professors and leading researchers across the world will upgrade the quality of what we learn to no end. But it will go much further than just
connect us to each other; think virtual site visits around Chernobyl in history class and learning biomedical science on the Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough as your guide. With mixed reality, we can now learn with smart glasses that overlay instructions onto the real world. Large companies like Magic Leap are pioneering the possibilities in this sector, but smaller companies like Woote (page 38) are already bringing this technology to us on a smaller scale. Expanding into the world of health, VR may be an extremely effective form of therapy for psychological problems. Treatment by regularly exposing the wearer to progressively more challenging situations is already being tested. Curing things from a phobia of heights, to post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers, to schizophrenia. Still, the possibilities do not stop there.
VR IS HERE TO STAY . EXPANSIONS INTO THE HEATH INDUSTRY ALREADY ON THE HORIZON, AND HERE ARE OTHER INDUSTRIES IT ’ S SET TO REVOLUTIONIZE
EDUCATION
ARCHAEOLOGY
Smart glasses for interactive learning, virtual field trips
Discover ancient or hardto-reach lands, including Chernobyl
ART Immersive Art
Games, Movies
DESIGN
HEATLH
Architecture designs, urban planning
Cure psychological disorders, virtual GP surgeries
SO WE CAN EXPECT VR TO EXPAND ACROSS INTO MANY DIFFERENT AREAS OF OUR LIVES, BUT HOW WILL THE TECHNOLOGY PROGRESS?? SOME OF THE WORLD’S LEADING RESEARCHERS, INCLUDING RAY KURZWEIL, HAVE HAD A GO AT PREDICTING THE VR MILESTONES OF THE FUTURE.. Turn to page 38 to read about smart glasses and how they’re revolutionising the way we learn to use machinery
22 22
ENTERTAINMENT
BY THE
2020’S
GLASSES WILL BEAM IMAGES DIRECTLY ONTO THE RETINA
TRAINING Flight simulation, parachute simulation, surgery simulation
BY THE
2030’S
VR WILL BEGIN TO FEEL 100%REAL WE WILL BE ABLE TO UPLOAD OUR MIND/ CONSCIOUSNESS BY THE END OF THE DECADE
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Scan the QR code to see how we are using the latest technologies in construction.
Join the next generation of technology experts:
www.balfourbeatty.com/careers 23
JOINING UP THE DOTS HOW TO BAG THE JOB OF YOUR DREAMS
I
n this issue we have discussed the future of the workplace in many different forms. Even now, the skills recruiters will look for, and the types of jobs available will be vastly different to those that our parents have had. So where do you go to get advice on how to prepare? If you know what kind of role you want to end up in, what’s the right pathway to get there?
Take our flow-chart to find out which of our featured careers best suits you. Don’t worry, these are just three of many, if these don’t tickle your fancy there’s plenty more out there! Check out TechmixMag.com for more inspiration
START Y ARE YOU A NATURAL BORN LEADER?
Y
ARE YOU WILDLY CREATIVE?
N Y
IS A DAY WITHOUT LEARNING, A DAY WASTED?
DO PATTERNS FACINATE YOU?
N
N N
Y
Y N
DO YOU EVER WANT TO ESCAPE TO ANOTHER WORLD?
N
ONLINE ENTREPRENEUR Examples of job titles: YouTuber - Vlogger - Sharing Economist Skills needed: Creativity, all-round business skills Personality traits: Determined, self-motivated, self improver Education level: High School +
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DO YOU HAVE A VIVID IMAGINATION?
Y
DO YOU HAVE A MILLION NEW IDEAS EVERY DAY?
N THESE THREE MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU, BUT THERE’S LOADS MORE OPTIONS OUT THERE
Y
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
VIRTUAL REALITY
Examples of job titles: Computer Scientist - Mechanical Engineer - Roboticist - Artificial Medical Health Professional Skills needed: Computer science, programming, cognitive science, physics Personality traits: Logical thinker, mathematically minded, technically skilled Education level: Undergraduate Degree +
Examples of job titles: VR App Developer - Cinematic VR Creation - VR Web Development Skills needed: Design, computer programming, graphics programming, 3D modelling Personality traits: Creative, technically skilled Education level: Undergraduate Degree +
digital evolution Having the right skill set is key to landing the job of your dreams. Sometimes these skills need to be built up over time, and so it’s important to know what skills you need in order to prepare for your future. But with the workplace ever-changing, it might be obvious what skills are needed if you’re looking for a job right now, but what about next year? Or in a few years’ time? The guys at Barclays Lifeskills did a load of research and found that the most important skills to have when entering the world of work now are: resilience, problem solving, communication, networking and professionalism. Fairly different to the ones your Mum and Dad say were the most important when they started out right? So if the older generation don’t have the answers, who can help?
JOBS JURY
We took to twitter and asked both young digital leaders and tech employers for their advice. This court is now in session:
WHAT ARE THE KEY SKILLS NEEDED FOR THE FUTURE WORKPLACE?
THE VERDICT
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, COMMUNICATION, FLEXIBILITY, NETWORKING @techmixmag
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26
“
BIG DEBATE IS HACKING A CRIME??
BAD
”
DCI Andrew Gould Head of the Cyber Protect Campaign Metropolitan Police
It is no secret that there can be money to be made as a criminal from stealing data or denying service to a company website. There is certainly a sub-culture of some hackers who use various online forums available to share information, sell data, coach potential young hackers or even challenge each other to carry out attacks. Exploring skills in the online hacking world can be of benefit when done correctly, but it is not a game. Even if the law is not intended to be broken, hacking can be illegal and there are consequences. Computer Misuse Act offences can be easy to commit but the consequences can be hard to avoid. It is not a victimless crime.
digital evolution
The term ‘hacking’ has got a pretty bad rep from the press lately, but we all know that the news loves to shine a light over the negative. So here in the big debate section, we ask the big questions and put them to the experts to give us an unbiased, intellectual overview of the situation. This issue we ask…
GOOD
Scott Lowe MSc School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh
Hacking is not inherently criminal or unethical. Cybersecurity is big business, currently worth $78 billion globally and set to grow to $120 billion by the end of next year – and hackers fight on both sides of this battlefront. Whilst the media portrays all hackers as nefarious characters, in reality this just one side of the coin. The bad guys are “black-hat” hackers (ala spaghetti westerns), who find vulnerabilities in applications and websites and use them for malevolent purposes, be it vandalism, data dumping, or injecting adverts.
Meanwhile, the “white-hats” are looking for the same vulnerabilities, but are hired by the company to conduct Companies can go bust, people can lose their jobs and in a security test, or the company has offers up a bounty in extreme cases people have even taken their own lives after return for reports of zero-day vulnerabilities. These are the becoming hacking victims. As for the hackers, suspects are good guys! Sometimes their actions can be more morally regularly arrested, their houses searched and equipment ambiguous, such as looking for vulnerabilities without the taken away. Hacking is a conviction and leads to court and a company’s permission, which is technically illegal even if criminal record. This could put a stop to any career, even before only carried out to improve security; or if a company doesn’t bother to fix a privately reported vulnerability, publicly it has started. announcing its details to shame the company into taking protective action. Such behaviour leads to the term “greyTo develop your skills without the risk of breaking the law, hat” hacker. there are excellent platforms available to help individuals on the right path to a career within the industry, such as the In the modern world, state-sponsored cyberwarfare is on Cyber Security Challenge. Push boundaries and develop skills the increase, and the spies are not typically looking to coverin a safe space without becoming involved in criminality, up the security holes they find. The role of the white and grey knowingly or unknowingly. hats is set to become increasingly valuable to society.
WHAT’S YOUR VIEW? HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF WWW.TECHMIX.COM content.met.police.uk/Site/falcon
27
DIGITAL CAREERS SHOW
hear like to speak ’d u o l y If Bil ck and er Jez, Ja nd meet ov yers, lo a p m ital e 100 dighen please or free, t f ttend .com er to a chmixmag t is g e e R t @ s t n at: eve
Hack your way into leading roles in the digital, creative and media industries Take your future into your own hands. You have the power to steer it in any direction you choose. Come along to the next Digital Careers Show to: pitch to recruiting employers, sign up to innovative courses, and get on track for the career of your dreams.
PREVIOUS SUCCESS
NEXT EVENT
Camden Roundhouse 24th February 2016
Copperbox Arena 7th July 2016
“The Digital Careers Show in Camden was very inspirig, informative and impressive; our students found it a very worthwhile event in planning for their futures. There was a good range of companies with very knowledgeable representatives and each of our students left with lots of information and numerous contacts”
WHAT IS IT? The Digital Careers Show is an event held exclusively for the the technology industry. We know you don’t want to be a hairdresser so there’s not a salon in sight.
Lisa Homewood – Hugh Christie Technology College
“We offered three young graduates the opportunity to work with us after meeting them at the last Digital Careers Show” Imran Khan, CEO – Pinro Technologies
WHO WILL BE THERE? Instead we’ve got exhibitors for 3D printing, robotics, software development, hardware development, coding, designing, creatives, and more. Every single one of them is passionate about creating tech or teaching it. WHAT DO I GET? So get down to the next event and get signed up to an apprenticeship or higher education course, or even better… get yourself hired!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Watch out for more events as the Digital Careers Show hits the road… We’ll be in… South London in September West London in November And round off 2016 at none other than…. Westminster on December 13th The final Digital Careers Show of 2016, lands in the heart of Westminster in December - bringing together 1,500 young people, technology educators from schools, colleges and universities across the UK. On stage, we have invited some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs and employers to give you an exclusive insight in to starting a business of your own, or working for a leading company. Keep reading to hear about our VIP speakers - and updates on ticket registration.
MEET OVER 100 LEADING DIGITAL EMPLOYERS, THIS JULY 7TH AT THE LEGENDARY COPPERBOX IN EAST LONDON.
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ct Authority 28 and the Prudential Regulation HP. Item ref: MCT206. Created: 10/15
UNIQUE INDUSTRY INSIGHT Any good event offers the stars of the show the floor, their chance shine and revel in the glory of their success. But more importantly, to share their knowledge, expertise and opinions with the rest of us! At every Digital Careers Show, there is a Speaker Summit with a superb line-up of global business leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators
within the digital industry. This Summer’s event on 7th July is no exception. We’ve got an A-list line-up of keynote speakers who will be discussing a whole host of topics from To give you a quick preview, these three will be there sharing their wisdom…
JEZ BROOKS IBM EARLY PROFESSIONALS MANAGER APPRENTICE LEADER
JACK DOWNEY BT SENIOR CONSULTANT
BILL THOMPSON BBC MAKE IT DIGITAL PARTNER LEAD
Jez has been leader of the IBM Apprenticeship scheme for the last 2 ½ years. In fact, he has worked with IBM’s early professionals on the graduate, student and internship programme, called Foundation, for the last 10 years. Keeping students aware of the options available to them for both skills and career development is the essence of Jez’s role as an Early Professionals Manager. He has chaired the Digital Industry Employers group in developing the newest Apprenticeship standards for the Government’s Trailblazer programme. His academic background in marine biology proves anyone can make a career in the technology industry!
Jack joined BT in 2011 as an apprentice in TV and Content. Despite attaining below average A-levels, Jack discovered, though his apprenticeship, that he learnt best in a more practical hands on environment. As a result, Jack gained a Distinction in his Foundation Degree. During his apprenticeship Jack worked on The Digital Switch Over, 2012 Olympic Games, 2014 Commonwealth Games and the launch of BT Sport. Since completing his apprenticeship in 2014, Jack has achieved two promotions and now works as a Senior Consultant in Network Management and is the line manager of the apprentices in the BT TV team.
Bill Thompson is a well-known technology journalist and advisor to arts and cultural organisations on matters related to digital technologies. He has been working in, on and around the Internet since 1984, Bill appears weekly on Click on BBC World Service radio and writes for a range of publications. He is Partnership Lead for Make It Digital and Head of Partnership Development for the BBC Archive, a member of the boards of Writers’ Centre Norwich and Britten Sinfonia, a Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Art and a Visitor at Southampton University.
IN THEIR WORDS:
“Technology is essential to… everything. It is integrated into every part of our lives, from the moment we wake up to the point our head hits the pillow again. Technology isn’t just for the tech industry either. It is used by retailers, manufacturers, banks, the public sector, pharmaceutical companies, research and development, academia and so on. Everyone in these areas needs technical specialists. It is absolutely true that ‘Technicians Make It Happen’. The opportunities available within technical careers are now more exciting than ever, so it is be proactive and find out more about the opportunities available.”
INTRODUCING
MOBILIZE:LDN
IN THEIR WORDS:
“At Digital Careers Show, I will be talking about my digital journey. It is about time we engaged with the technology. After all, this “I’m am looking forward to sharing my experience at the upcoming Digital Careers is not a new world. We have had seventy years of digital computers, forty years of Show. I’ll be talking about what it is like to ebooks, thirty years of the internet, twentybe a recently graduated apprentice within BT and some of the amazing opportunities five years of the web, ten years of facebook, nearly eight years of iPhone. It’s going to be which have become available to me as a down to you all not just to tell new stories result of the scheme. I will also look to but to find new ways to tell old and new dispel the myth that apprenticeships are stories, taking the things that these digital second best to university and explain why it is so important to get more young people tools make possible and inventing new things that storytellers can use, making new into the digital industry.” things possible.”
IN THEIR WORDS:
MOBILIZE: LDN is an economic growth programme, supported by the London Enterprise Panel to help businesses with the challenge of hiring talent with the correct tech skills (the ‘digital skills gap’). The intervention programme brings together the best young digital leaders aged 15-25 years (1ST - 3RD jobbers) with thought-leading SME employers keen to address recruitment challenges, drive diversity in their work place, and raise career ambitions in their local community. Supported by Barclays LifeSkills, Cisco, City & Guilds, UFI Trust and Qtone Education MOBILZE: LDN aims to unite tech talent with leading tech employers in five Digital Careers Roadshow events in the five tech clusters of London - resolving in an end of programme Westminster summit in December 2016.
THE RISE OF THE
GIG ECONOMY CONNECTING A WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY AND BUILDING A SIX-FIGURE SALARY FROM A FIVER(R)
H
ave you ever wanted to by pass the traditional 9-5 and work for yourself? Manage your own schedule? Create your own work-life balance? With the social culture of buying and selling shifting online, it’s not surprising that the Gig Economy is transitioning into the world of work too.
Fiverr is trailblazing its way across the globe and heading straight for us. The world-leading marketplace for freelance workers is designed to deliver professional digital services as products as easy to purchase as a book on Amazon. The online marketplace is set up as centralized catalogue of services that’s easy for both freelancers (sellers) and prospective customers (buyers) to use. Sellers create the ‘Gig’ they want to sell – think image editing, CV writing, graphic design, voice-overs - and buyers purchase
30
their skilled work starting as low as $5. So buyers are hooked on skilled work for cheap prices and quick turnarounds, but how about the sellers? If you’re selling for such affordable prices, how can you make enough money to earn a living? Since its inception in 2010, the marketplace has facilitated over 25 million transactions. There is currently a steady average of close to 1 million purchases per month, and Fiverr’s reputation as the industry leader is only growing. As the site has developed, more features have been added to make it easier to offer more complex services at higher rates. Add on fast delivery, extra alterations, or larger projects and the dollars soon pile up. Through Fiverr, skilled freelancers are making a living on their own terms by working when they want, how they want while determining the exact services they
want to offer, with some sellers earning huge salaries. The marketplace gives sellers the ability to execute on their work while delighting customers, building a regular client base from all over the world. So, who can become a successful seller on Fiverr? Three quarters of sellers are millennials, but the marketplace features a demographic cross section of age, gender and nationality. There are active buyers and sellers in 190 countries so far, with U.S. and U.K. taking the top spots for both. So in short, there’s no typical seller – it can be anyone, from anywhere, offering anything. Intrigued to find out more about this online workplace of the future, we wanted to meet some of the people behind Fiverr. We chatted with an all-star UK super-seller, and a start-up CEO who’s built his business with help from the online community. www.fiverr.com
digital evolution
THE SUPER-SELLER’S GUIDE F TO MAKING MONEY ON FIVERR
or many people, working for themselves is a dream. But for some it remains a dream because starting out as a freelance worker is difficult. Making contacts, building up a client base and making a name for yourself is the hardest part of the job. But with an online marketplace dedicated to connecting freelancers with paying clients, it seems like Fiverr could be the answer to turning that dream into a reality. To get a better idea of how easy it really is to become a successful seller on Fiverr, we talked to Tom, the super-seller behind ‘Newbold3d’, to hear exactly how Fiverr has helped his career. Hi Tom, tell us, how did you get started on Fiverr? After finishing my degree in 3D animation, I struggled to secure my first full-time job. So whilst doing part-time work, I looked online to do some freelancing to help tie my over. I set up my Fiverr account in just a couple of minutes, and it was perfect for doing a bit of extra work here and there. But when I was offered the job I’d gone to Uni and studied for 3 years for, it meant moving away from home again which just wasn’t what I wanted. So I decided to stay and turn selling on Fiverr into a full-time career on my own terms. What are your 5 top tips for any new seller? When you’re new, getting good feedback is key to helping you build a reputation and securing more gigs. So my top tips would be: over-deliver, impress your clients, get good feedback, make yourself personable by doing a seller’s video, and don’t be disheartened straight away as it will take time to build up your profile.
NOTTINGHAM-BASED UK SUPER-SELLER AND FIVERR AMBASSADOR TOM, NEWBOLD3D, SHARES THE SECRETS TO HIS ONLINE SUCCESS
Five years after he first set up his account, Tom is now a super-seller, a Fiverr ambassador, and has earnt close to $200,000 on his own terms. Tom enjoys working on Fiverr so much that he tells all of his clients to book in work with him through the site, so as to keep organised through the scheduling system. In Tom’s experience, working on the sharing economy has allowed him to do the work he is passionate about, work on his own terms and to his own schedule. But most of all, it takes the pain out of freelancing and has made it an almost effortless process which allows Tom to focus on what he is really passionate about: graphic design. www.fiverr.com/newbold3d
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WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS: CREATING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS WITH AN ONLINE COMMUNITY
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ashfeed is a successful tech start-up, but the company could not have been built up into the business it is today without the skilled work of sellers on Fiverr.
extra assistance from time to time. Between the variety of qualified sellers and the affordable pricing, it’s basically a nobrainer for anyone who needs to get things done quickly and on a tight budget.
So we know why you would sell on Fiverr, but what about buying? To get a better insight, we spoke to Adam Mashaal, the founder of Mashfeed, the free iOS app that mashes together your social media feeds. The app’s success has rocketed, but providing a service for free means his team has remained a small, close-knit start-up. With only five employees working full-time, the team spread their skills out across many different tasks, working at full steam. When deadlines are tight, or expertise is needed for a one-off task, Mashfeed outsource work to freelancers.
As the founder of a tech start-up, how has Fiverr helped you to grow your business? As a startup founder, there are only so many hours in the day to accomplish what I need to do. I was recently up against a tight deadline and needed to have a website quickly coded and deployed. A friend of mine in the startup space recommended I check out Fiverr. What I found were countless numbers of sellers specializing in exactly what I was looking to accomplish. After sifting through the buyer reviews for some of the most popular sellers, I landed on a seller that I felt most comfortable with. And since the pricing model was really flexible, I was able to start a project without much of a commitment.
Hi Adam, we hear you’re a frequent buyer on Fiverr. Tell us, what’s the best thing about Fiverr? Fiverr is an amazing resource for anyone in the startup space who may need some
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After talking to Adam, it seems that the biggest pros from a buyer’s perspective
are that using Fiverr means three things: quality work, cheap prices and speedy turnarounds. And in the start-up world, quality, money and time are without a doubt the most important factors. Using the platform cuts down the time it would normally take to find freelancers with certain skills, and coordinate with them. Sharing out the workload also means that a high quality can still be achieved even when the team is small. He has worked with many different sellers on Fiverr, built up a roster of people who he works with regularly, and is always finding new sellers for various tasks. Finally, Adam says that outsourcing to Fiverr in small, one-off chunks is the perfect solution to his freelancer needs, and without Fiverr, his business couldn’t have grown to the success it has become. Mashfeed may only have 5 employees, but it’s been built and grown into a successful company by a whole online community living across the world. www.mashfeed.com
SUPERCHARGE YOUR CV WITH
WE’VE SPOKEN TO TOM ABOUT BECOMING A SUPER-SELLER, TO ADAM ABOUT BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS, BUT WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE REST OF US?
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mongst all the services on Fiverr, there sits CV writing. Yes, someone out there will actually take the horror of CV writing away from you, and enjoy doing it! Maybe you’re stumped on what to write about, what skills to include and how to relate them to the job you want. Or perhaps you need some suggestions of how to you make yourself come across well to an employer. Or if you’re applying for a creative role and want to stand out from the crowd with a cool design. At this very moment, there’s someone on Fiverr with the skills to help. Head to the website and take your pick
from skilled professionals who will whip your CV into shape, or even better, come along to Fiverr’s CV Surgery booth at the next Digital Careers Show and have it done for free! Bring your CV and head down to The Copper Box Arena in Olympic Park on 7th July. Fiverr and their team of content and design experts will shape up your CV from flop to jaw-drop: leaving it looking so good employers will be jumping at the chance to hire you. For event details and to book tickets, visit: techmixmag.com/dcs_east
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COULD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REPLACE TEACHERS?
ALISON VINCENT, CTO, CISCO UK AND IRELAND
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ith Artificial Intelligence (AI) about to explode and revolutionise the tech industry, we talk to the Chief Technology Officer of a world leading technology company about how it could impact how we all learn in schools and in later life. After Google DeepMind’s AI computer system ‘AlphaGo’ beat world champion ‘Go’ player Lee Se-dol of South Korea, some are wondering if a man-made replica of our own human intelligence network can be applied in educational settings to benefit learning, and in doing so, could that spell the end of teachers as we know them today?
Now, if you think about the classroom that you either work in at the moment, or perhaps the one you’ve recently left, how did technology benefit your learning? It will vary on how much your school bought into technology, but on the whole it was likely a support system or enhanced a text book of some kind. Many existing learning support systems can already analyse big data on students learning and provide necessary
You may have read about the feat of AlphaGo in the news and not paid too much attention to it. Over the years we’ve heard of developments like this from technology vendors where human intelligence is beaten by a form of computing, and you can be forgiven for perhaps glossing over this latest news piece. However, here’s what’s really crazy and why you should care. Google DeepMind’s programmers didn’t explicitly teach AlphaGo to play the game. Instead, they built a kind of model brain called a neural network that learned how to play Go by itself. Just pause for a minute and take that in. It was told how to play a game, it picked it up itself and beat a legend. 34
Photo: Google Press
cisco.co.uk
digital evolution
Photo: Google Press
personal advice. But the possibilities with AI are huge and can enable life-long learning.
attention and imagination of learners anywhere, anytime on any device. That sounds a bit more enticing, right? And, through the benefit of AI, you don’t have to study on your own, some AI systems can help you learn as communities – albeit not based in the same room – based on your area of specialism. You could be in a small learning group from your bedroom in Hackney, with someone from California, and a student in Italy.
Now, life-long learning may not sound too thrilling to some of you itching to get into work and earn money, but with the way the world has changed due to digital technologies and cycle of new devices, you may find the job and career you choose now, isn’t what you’re doing in 40 years, or even 10! To stay relevant and avoid becoming obsolete and unemployable, we must all continue to feed our brains and evolve. My view is that learning is an activity in the same way that sport is; it’s not a singular place or point in time and goes beyond the school and the university. This doesn’t mean having your head stuck in a book for hours on end. Learning must increasingly focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and 21st century skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. Using the full power of video and mobility, people can collaborate to create and share knowledge as well as develop new ways of teaching and learning that captures the
Not only does this mean you learn in a more effective way, but it becomes more meaningful too. Not only do you learn about a given topic, but you pick up collaboration skills and improve your understanding of different cultures too. As we look at the future of education, there really are no boundaries in the way we learn, but the value of teaching will be further strengthened by the addition of technologies such as AI to the roster of tools at you and your teacher’s disposal. Let Alison know what you think about the change technology plays in how schools teach, via Twitter: @DrAliv
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YOUR DIGITAL FUTURE The rise and rise of all things digital is of such pivotal importance to our modern world, that it is described as the fourth industrial revolution. The question is, how should we prepare, and is the UK ready to launch into a world away from solid paper and into the clouds? We asked the UK’s most influential leader in the technology industry to write down his thoughts on the subject. Without question the UK has an innovation heritage we can all be proud of. From inventing the telephone to the World Wide Web, we also spearheaded the first Industrial Revolution with British cities like Manchester and Sheffield being the workshops of the world. Skip forward to 2016 and we’re in the heart of the fourth Industrial Revolution: a digital revolution characterised by 36
a mix of technologies that is increasingly blurring the lines between the physical, digital and even biological. The scale, scope and complexity of transformation unfolding around us is unprecedented and it’s widely accepted that this technological revolution and move to a truly digitised world will fundamentally change the way we live and work. What’s less understood is how we manage and embrace this change. Digital disruption will displace 40% of companies in the next five years, but organisations and countries that are ready for digital transformation will be able to seize new opportunities to thrive. So just how ready are we here in the UK? The Cisco Digital Readiness survey set out to discover just that by surveying IT leaders in eight countries across eight industries and rating their readiness on a 100 point
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scale. Even the most advanced companies scored only 77, with the UK scoring 75, compared to Germany at 72. And it seems that there are some key issues facing IT departments globally and in the UK: 43% of UK IT leaders cite security as their primary concern in an increasingly connected world, and the ability of IT to respond to change and demand is limited – only 33% of UK businesses are able to deliver on IT requests within 48 hours. While the UK may not be performing badly on the global stage, more needs to be done and in a world where every day brings new technological innovations, time is of the essence. And of course, successful digitisation relies on more than just technology and effective IT: consideration needs to also be given to business models, processes, skills and culture. In recognition of this, we announced a number of commitments in the UK in July 2015, totalling an investment of $1 billion over the next 3-5 years to support the UK’s digitisation plans and accelerate digital economic growth. It’s part of an initiative that we’re rolling out across the globe and here in the UK we’re working in partnership with the government to focus on key issues such as productivity, education and skills, and enablers such as innovation and entrepreneurship, infrastructure, cybersecurity and smart cities. Why this matters to us all Undertaking such a major programme is about more than just a large corporate investing money in the country. That’s obviously important but we passionately believe that by working collectively with the combined force and capabilities of academia, industry and government, we can drive, support and foster a culture and climate ripe for digitisation. Together, we can collectively address some of the major challenges facing this country and ensure that the UK continues to strive ahead in the era of the fourth Industrial Revolution. Digitisation has the potential to create sustainable and positive impact for every area of society as well as drive a stronger economy and foster increased opportunities for the UK. That’s good for the country on the global stage, good for businesses and – most importantly – good for you and me, the people who live and work across the country. Let Phil know what you think about the fourth industrial revolution via Twitter: @phsmithuk cisco.co.uk
PHIL SMITH, CEO OF CISCO UK AND IRELAND 37
A CLEAR TIM LUFT, CO-FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF WOOTE
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mart glasses are set to revolutionise the workplace by offering on the job training. We talk to the man behind the testing programme to find out how he got into it and what the smart glasses can do for us. Woote is a virtual simulation company based in Telford, Shropshire. They’re using funding from Ufi Charitable Trust for a new research and development project, testing ways of using Epson Moverio glasses for health and safety training at work. We spoke to Tim Luft, chief executive of Woote Ltd, about this and how he came to be work in digital tech. (We can tell you that we checked his profile on-line before we met – he started out studying urban regeneration, so his career path was not quite what we might have expected!) Hi Tim, tell us about the new project you are working on? So, our smart glasses can be used as a normal pair of safety glasses, until you turn on the twin-heads up display. Then they instantly show just what you need to know about the particular machine
digital evolution you’re standing by. They become a completely new way of learning about health and safety. When the person looks at a piece of machinery – up comes the content – it can be images, a tutorial, or a video – anything. It’s really quick and it’s hands-free. For example, we can show a 3D digital overlay for a particular machine, showing what could happen to an operator who is not using proper protection. The display could simulate an incident to show clearly the danger of not following the health and safety policy, in a very immediate and interactive way. What stage is the project at? This is the first time this technology has been fully trialled for training in a factory. It’s really exciting for us to see how we can use the new products in lots more ways that we originally imagined. We are working closely with manufacturers to test the product in real-life situations – so companies like Rolls Royce are keen to see if it can work in their factories where they are making aircraft engines and we are working with companies making parts for the automotive industry too. What sorts of things do you have to do as part of a research and development project like this? There are three main elements to developing new products like this: 1. Testing different types of hardware – so we’re trying out Epson Moverio Glasses and Microsoft HoloLens at the moment.
2. Developing software – designing and developing Augmented Reality algorithms. This is where we have to think through the human-computer interface (HCI) requirements. 3. Graphic design – delivering the overlaid content, images, animations and audio to the device when the user needs it. This includes working out how the device will recognise and respond to user commands, locations or images. What else are you working on apart from the TARGET project? I work with other digital tech businesses, helping them to develop new products and bring them to market. Woote also has a venue where we have the most up-to-date simulation training facilities, from driving simulation to virtual clay pigeon shooting, as well as the very latest in immersive virtual reality headsets for people to come and try out. Can you tell us briefly how you came to be working in the field of digital technology? I started work helping companies use email almost 20 years ago. When I saw the real opportunity that technology could offer businesses, I focused my research and career towards the digital sector. I’ve always been interested in looking for possibilities to disrupt markets using technology.
have been involved in. This could also be coursework. Coupled with this we are looking for a real passion in the area. What is your own personal favourite bit of tech kit? I really like my Samsung Gear VR headset at the moment, not just for games but also as a way to view 360-degree video productions. The experience is second to none. What can you see happening in the future the world of digital technology? There is just loads of exciting new technology coming down the line – we are seeing a new industrial revolution – a technology revolution! The speed at which new technology is coming out is phenomenal. Especially around things like smart glasses. We’ve ordered the new Microsoft HoloLens and we’re looking forward to getting our hands on these and testing them out. It looks like they will take things to a new level, generating 3D images almost like holograms and with built-in motion sensors enabling us to use our hands as well. While we tend to associate this type of technology with gaming, there are loads of other practical applications. Very exciting times ahead!
When Woote are recruiting, what are you looking for in your potential employees? Proven results are key. When we look for new people for our tech team, we like to see actual examples of work they
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LEARNING
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ith its students becoming more and more tech savvy, Myerscough College in North West England is being funded by Ufi Charitable Trust to develop instructional videos for viewing on smartphones and tablets. The aim is to make learning more accessible to students, whether they are learning in or outside the classroom. We went to talk to Paul McGrail, Assistant Principal at Myerscough to find more about this and why they think it is important. How will these videos help your students? The videos will be available on mobile devices via an app, so people can look at them when they’re actually trying to do something. Instructional videos will replace workbooks – content will be more interesting and inspirational. They’ll help students learn practical elements even when they are not in class. Myerscough is a horticultural college, so our students are often outdoors – doing courses in gardening, landscaping, fruit and veg production and animal and equine studies. The first videos are for people studying golf course green keeping, including 40
www.ufi.co.uk
apprentices who are not in college full-time. Why do you think it is important to change how you are teaching your students? Assessment is changing, moving away from assessment in separate modules and becoming more integrated. So, students will be tested on both theory and practical elements in one assessment at the end of their course. We need to look at new ways to help students to learn and help them pass these assessments. The new tools help students see exactly what it is they need to do to pass their assessments. Has it been easy for the college to develop these new tools? Myerscough is working with e-learning experts who have good experience in developing digital tools for e-learning. They understand how to create resources like videos – we thought it was going to be easy just to make videos - little did we know it would be such a challenge! The college has an e-learning developer on the staff. He’ll work on the films too, with
our subject tutors, to make sure the content of the videos is technically correct. And he’ll advise tutors on how to use them as part of the course. Everyone who works here has to learn how to use digital resources as this is an increasing part of how we do our job – both our own business tools and how we deliver teaching and learning. So, do you think you’ll be using more digital technology to help your students to learn? Digital technology is changing everything – including how people learn and how we teach. The government wants lots more people taking apprenticeships and employees need people at work with the right skills. Vocational technology is going to make a big difference to how we deliver the new apprenticeship programmes. Our e-learning developer has a really important job, working across the college to help build a better quality ‘virtual learning environment’ so that students will have a blend of different resources to support their learning. And students www.ufi.co.uk
expect this – they are using digital technology in so many other areas of life, they are expecting to use it for learning too. How are students responding to the new learning tools you are providing? Feedback has been positive. Students are telling us that they like these new tools – they can ‘like’ the videos they think are most useful. And there’s a quiz at the end of each one so that they can test themselves on what they’ve learned. It’s good for people who don’t learn so well in classroom situations and who like to learn in ‘bite-sized’ chunks. And, students can work at their own pace, stopping and starting the videos or watching them several times over. College staff are seeing lots of other areas where they could use the videos too. Everyone likes them. 41 41
SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE...
With new trends and technologies constantly driving change in the workplace, it’s important to have the right tools to keep yourself ahead of the pack. Head of LifeSkills, Kirstie Mackey, explains how to get the skills you need for the 21st century AS THE WORLD OF WORK CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE CORE SKILLS THAT EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR WHEN RECRUITING AND WHETHER YOU HAVE THEM? Trends in the world, in the way we live and in the workplace, shape the types of skills employers are increasingly needing and looking for now and in the future – and it’s fair to say that even current jobs will require new tasks, knowledge and skills at some point. For the LifeSkills programme, we’ve identified the core and transferable 21st century skills that employers are saying are vital. If you’re a young person or know someone about to enter the world of work, read on to find out why it’s important to understand and develop these skills for use now and in the future workplace. WHY ARE 21ST CENTURY SKILLS IMPORTANT? The workplace is continually evolving, and this has been impacted by influences from both society and technology – such as flexible working, global communication, automation and a decline in a ‘job for life’. But there is a set of skills that are becoming increasingly important to employers, and those wanting to enter the world of work will need to demonstrate them. Some people may already possess some of these 21st century skills, but by developing others we believe you can be better prepared for the future workplace. For example, did you know that 200 billion emails are sent around the world every day? As technology advances and plays an even greater role in work, this will certainly affect how organisations communicate – for example, you can easily now have a team meeting with people across the world thanks to video conferencing. 42
KIRSTIE MACKEY Head of LifeSkills created with Barclays
www.barclayslifeskills.com
barclays.co.uk
• Problem solving skills are about using a structured process to analyse tricky problems, consider logical solutions and then evaluate the result. This can be done alone or as a collaboration with other people.
WHAT ARE THESE 21ST CENTURY SKILLS? These skills are useful in life, gaining them may increase employability prospects and enable us to adapt and thrive as workplaces change. We know, for example, that 39% of employers say ‘problem solving’ is an area where they see a skills shortage1.
• Creativity is the ability to come up with inventive ideas that will help you complete a task or solve a problem in a new or interesting way.
21ST CENTURY SKILLS IN PRACTICE We’ve identified the additional core and transferable skills that employers are saying are vital. The first phase of our content for young people teaches resilience, leadership, communication, problem solving, proactivity and creative thinking.
• Communication and interpersonal skills are the verbal and physical skills that we use every day to explain what we’re thinking and feeling to other people. • Leadership is the ability to get the best out of a team of people as you collectively work to tackle a task, or reach an objective.
Young people will hear from other inspiring role models on topics such as ‘how being proactive got Alfred hired’, together with toolkits for each skill highlighting what it is; why is it important; what’s an example of this in the working world; top tips on putting the skill into action and finally an example of how they can test the skill either while at school, college or in work.
• Being proactive means that you think ahead, take the initiative and make things happen, instead of always reacting to what happens around you.
There is also new content for educators who want to teach 21st century skills to their students – a new lesson plan, infographic and glossary detailing different jobs of the future. Our new content will help show young people how to thrive in a constantly changing working environment.
• Resilience is the ability to cope with challenges or setbacks and turn them into positive, valuable learning experiences.
To find out more about LifeSkills and explore some of the new resources including 21st century skills, visit www.barclayslifeskills.com 1. Employer Skills Survey 2015, Evidence Report, UKCES Jan 2016
www.barclayslifeskills.com
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EXPERIENCE FOR LIFE Lifeskills created with Barclays launched their LifeSkills Pod on 19 April 2016. To cover the launch, they took to Twitter with a competition for a budding journalist to gain experience through writing about their work experience pod! And the winner is…
Stephen Wright is 18 years old and from Oxford. He is a keen journalist and hopes that his time working on local newsletters and football magazines, combined with his upcoming Journalism course at Bournemouth, will provide him with the knowledge and experience required to work in the field full time. In April, Stephen responded to a LifeSkills tweet looking for budding journalists to report on the launch of the LifeSkills Pod. Here Stephen writes up his own experience of the pod and how he found the tasks that tested his 21st century skills for the workplace…
the ‘work experience’ to the students? This is where the LifeSkills Pod comes in.
From my own experiences and the experiences of those I’ve spoken to, the common perception is that work experience provided by many companies in the real world is not always truly beneficial, and if it is, not enough companies offer it. Work experience is really important to businesses and young people, so it’s a tricky situation with no easy answer. However, while we can’t send students to work experience placements that don’t exist, what if there was a way to bring 44
The pod was recently trialled at Lister Community School in East London and I was lucky enough to attend and have a go. I sat down inside the pod and after choosing the business area I wanted experience in, was challenged to complete a set of activities based on real-world work situations (via a touchscreen and a big LCD screen on the wall that I can imagine being replicated in classrooms). To mimic the time pressures of the workplace, the tasks were timed and I can’t deny that my pulse quickened as the timer approached 00:10, 00:09, 00:08… After the experience, I was given personalised feedback on how well I performed, key learnings on why each skill was important, and a certificate! One student pointed out that the pod allows you to “understand questions you might be asked in the workplace, work on your mistakes and correct them in the future. Ultimately it helps to prevent you from making mistakes that you might otherwise make in work experience”. I also spoke to Simon Beck, assistant head at Lister Community School, who noted that “getting high quality work experience in this day and age is proving increasingly difficult… and in the absence of proper real-world work experience, the LifeSkills Pod is a really strong substitute.” To read Stephen’s full blog visit: www.barclayslifeskills. com/blog/
www.barclayslifeskills.com
LifeSkills taught me how my social media profile could help me get a job.
93% of recruiters check a candidate’s social profile before making a hiring decision* LifeSkills is a free programme that teaches young people the skills they need for the jobs they want. If you know someone who can benefit from LifeSkills visit barclayslifeskills.com Created with *Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey (2014). Barclays Bank PLC. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register No. 122702) Registered in England. Registered No. 1026167. Registered office: 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. Item ref: MCT206. Created: 10/15
INSPIRE A GENERATION Experience working life inside a successful UK tech company Learn skills from the leaders | Find your future career pathway
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This July, companies across the UK will be opening their doors and inviting you in for a money-can’tbuy experience of the digital world all in the name of Tech Week!
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MINISTRY OF DEFENCE - HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE - CISCO - BALFOUR BEATTY - DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS - FDM GROUP - SAMSUNG - CAPGEMINI - BUPA - FORGEROCK - PEPSI CO - TIN SMART SOCIAL - DIMENSION DATA - UNITED UTILITIES - AMAZON WEB SERVICES - SKY - GLOBAL RADIO - MICROSOFT - NATIONAL GRID
Tech week is to open to anyone with an interest in technology. The companies involved are industry-leading and are keen to share their expertise and passion for technology with you
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Tech Week will change the way you learn about technology; you’ll see the range of exciting tech careers that are available across all industry sectors and hopefully be inspired by what you see
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Tech Week is UK wide with all the events taking place at employer offices, schools, colleges and universities. To find an event happening near you visit The Tech Week Website www.thetechpartnership.com/techweek2016
www.thetechpartnership.com/techweek2016 for up-to-date info check To get involved email techweek@thetechpartnership.com On behalf of the Tech Partnership, 1 Castle Lane, London SW1E 6DR
INSPIRE A GENERATION Experience working life inside a successful UK tech company Learn skills from the leaders | Find your future career pathway
04-08
July 2016
In Tech Week, NATIONAL GRID are will be opening our doors to around 40 work experience students, who will help stop a cyber-attack. Held in Nottinghamshire, the scenario will see an attempt by activists to take over National Grid, helped from inside. Students will use innovation skills and new technology to meet challenges from social engineering to lost data. Can you unearth the mole? SKY ACADEMY CAREERS LAB is a free full day careers experience giving 16-19 year olds the chance to take part in practical workplace challenges and learn about careers in media, business and technology. During Tech Week we will be focusing all of our Careers Lab on technology to showcase the range of digital roles at Sky. Sessions need to be booked in advance via www.teachers.sky.com/careers-lab/ BALFOUR BEATTY we a global infrastructure group. We use our digital expertise to strengthen our leading position in the industry. During Tech Week we’ll be collaborating with schools to showcase careers in IT and Digital Construction. We’ll also be at the Mayor of London’s Digital Careers Roadshow at the iconic Copper Box, Olympic Park on Thursday 7th July. At TCS, we are passionate about promoting digital skills and have created the award winning IT Futures programme to help address the deficit of UK STEM students. The IT Futures programme draws on the expertise and enthusiasm of our own associates, to engage with young people and give them a better idea of how digital skills can help them in their careers. This is why we are particularly excited about the Tech Partnership’s Tech Week, as we will be running the programme in schools throughout the whole week. “Tech week is a fantastic event for National Grid. It allows us to set real world challenges and give the next generation of IT professionals valuable experience for the future” – National Grid “The future is bright in our world and we need fresh young talent to help us be the best – why not come along and meet us on the 7th July at the Copper Box to find out more” – Balfour Beatty
www.thetechpartnership.com/techweek2016 for up-to-date info check To get involved email techweek@thetechpartnership.com On behalf of the Tech Partnership, 1 Castle Lane, London SW1E 6DR
VIEW FROM THE TOP Mayor of London’s Digital Talent Programme
Catherine Knivett. Principal Policy Officer – Digital Skills Digital skills will be essential for all jobs in the future. That’s why the Mayor of London is investing £7million to help young Londoners take advantage of the digital economy. The Mayor’s Digital Talent pipeline will help young Londoners into exciting careers in digital, technology and creative roles. City businesses are eager to invest in bright, young talent from a wide range of backgrounds and increase
THINK. CREATE. DEVELOP. WITH ADA, THE NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR DIGITAL SKILLS At Ada we believe in the power of collaboration. We provide each of our students with the skills to unlock their toolbox of talent, navigate the digital landscape and conquer the unknown. We provide a collaborative space in the most exciting tech capital of the world, where diverse minds can explore, co-create, experiment and achieve. A unique learning environment designed to teach you hard skills, personal mastery and ultimately prepare you for the working world. We provide many paths. And with the digital sector in epic growth, hungry to fill 130,000 tech jobs every year in the UK alone, these paths are bursting with opportunity. We’ve cultivated an active network of digital-thinkers, industry experts and leading tech companies including IBM, King and Gamesys.
the number of women in their workforce. This means there are more opportunities than ever before! Keep an eye out for new opportunities including courses, apprenticeships, work experience and events coming your way soon. www.tech.london/news/mayor-of-london-launchestech-fund-for-digital-skills
This is a cutting-edge community that goes way beyond our college. Our network will set you up for life, by opening portals to sought-after work placements and apprenticeships. Build the skills to get job-ready The whole point of college? To get a great job! That’s why Ada’s re-booting the system with a digital college that’s right for today, tomorrow and beyond. A unique type of immersive education that offers experiential learning from tech-savvy teachers and industry experts. Forget theory, this is proper hands-on learning, using the very latest in technology and equipment. Learn with Ada and we’ll get your mind ticking in new ways. You’ll become fluent in at least two programming languages, whether you’re starting from scratch, or already a budding coder. We’ll teach you to use design thinking to create and develop ideas through a broad range of subject choices. This is where your academic self gets interactive with your creative self, because magic happens at the intersections. Our 6th form gets you to the next level. After two years you’ll have the skills to go on to our Foundation Degree Apprenticeship in Digital Innovation with a leading employer. This will provide you with cuttingedge knowledge, skills and qualifications, whilst avoiding university related debt. Alternatively, you will have the opportunity to gain enough UCAS points to progress on to the university of your choice. Curious? Then come to one of our events and apply to join us in Tottenham Hale in September 2016. www.adacollege.org.uk
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london.gov.uk
tech.london/news/mayor-of-london-launches-tech-fund-for-digital-skills
But there are so many universities and colleges offering degrees! Where do you start?! We’ve scoured the country for the best universities teaching the digital skills you want. We know you can find prospectuses anywhere, but we’ve gone to the trouble of hand-selecting the very best for specialist digital courses offering. This issue we have courses from the best of the best!
BRITISH COMPUTER SOCIETY
ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVRSITY You’ve got the hunger, you’ve got the drive, now you just need the qualifications, and the digital career of your dreams awaits.
MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY
DIGITAL
And there’s even more courses to peruse online at www.techmixmag.com.
UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON
So, let’s find your dream course...
ONE DAY YOU WILL MAKE YOUR MARK ON THE WORLD WE CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT. We will feed your mind. We will strengthen your ambition. We will work with you. And when things don’t go to plan, we will support you. The University of Brighton offers three media-related undergraduate degree courses – Media Studies BA(Hons), Environment and Media Studies BA(Hons), and Media, Industry and Innovation BA(Hons). Each course offers exciting opportunities at a university in of one of the most creative and forward-thinking cities in the world. Studying here will also give you the chance to become part of our respected industry placement programme – working in a broad range of industry sectors, from broadcast and digital media to PR and marketing.
Come and see for yourself. We look forward to meeting you.
Begin your digital career in London with Middlesex University Our undergraduate and postgraduate courses prepare you for the careers of tomorrow, fusing theory and practice in industry-standard facilities. From using social media to break world-changing stories to creating virtual reality experiences, see where digital can take you at Middlesex.
“
Middlesex University gave me the confidence to chase my dreams and has provided me with the skills I need to accomplish them. Natasha Artwell, Journalism and Media Graduate
— — — — — — — —
Advertising and PR Animation Computer science Creative technologies Games design Journalism Film Publishing and digital cultures — Television production — Visual effects Find out more today www.mdx.ac.uk/courses
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Digital Media BA Honours Newly launched and designed in direct response to the needs of today’s digital industry, our Digital Media degree teaches you how to work across new and emerging channels online, creating and monitoring innovative content that has the potential to drive change. www.mdx.ac.uk/digitalmedia
Develop your computing career BSc (Hons Audio and Music Technology
MSc Cloud Computing
BSc (Hons) Business Information Systems
MSc Computer Games Development (Computing)
BSc (Hons) Computer Gaming Technology BSc (Hons) Computer Networks BEng (Hons) Computer Science BEng (Hons) Electronic Engineering BSc (Hons) Smart Technology (Starts Sep 2017) BSc (Hons) Software Development
MSc Computer Science MSc Cyber Security MSc Electronic and Electrical Engineering MSc Information and Communication Technology (Conversion)
Professional short courses Cisco CCNA and CCNA Security
Work placement/sandwich year available on all courses. See us at Stand 40 or visit: anglia.ac.uk/ digitalcareersshow twitter.com/angliaruskin facebook.com/angliaruskin
twitter.com/angliaruskin facebook.com/angliaruskin
VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage v5.5 CORNING Network IQ Elite Programme
Teacher training scholarships from BCS Academy of Computing
20019/M/PROM/0914
If you relish the idea of inspiring people, fostering innovation and creativity and helping others to realise their potential then teaching computing is the career for you. With a BCS teacher training scholarship you could get a ÂŁ25,000* tax-free bursary whilst you train. *conditions apply
academy.bcs.org/scholarships
CAREER CAMP 9-13 MAY 2016, LONDON
THIS MAY, FIVE WORLD-CLASS TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES WELCOMED 40 YOUNG PEOPLE INTO THEIR HEADQUARTERS TO SHARE THEIR DIGITAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE. GAUSIKA KANAGARATNAM WRITES ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE ACROSS THE WEEK.
GAUSIKA KANGARATNAM, TECHMIX CAREER CAMP MAY 2016
DAY ONE
A
s a Computer Science student looking for my first step onto the career ladder, I went to Career Camp to help me find a pathway into industry. Each day provided a fantastic insight into a top tech company and I met loads of influential people. The best thing I learnt from the week overall was that when you really enjoy something, it doesn’t feel like work at all.
MEDIA CAMPAIGNING WITH NAVADA GROUP
The first day of camp was inspired by Noel Clarke’s new film Brotherhood. Matthew Scott, the CEO of Navada challenged us to make our own footage and content for the film’s advertising campaign. It was a really fun, creative, team-building day which gave us all great insight what it takes to producing good digital content and its importance within a marketing campaign.
FLYING HIGH IN THE SALESFORCE TOWER
DAY TWO
We started on top on day two, looking down over London from level 26 in the Salesforce tower! It was so inspiring to come into the company’s working office, see the technology they use and meet the team. We learnt all the basic digital skills we need to be accepted on the Salesforce Trailhead Apprentice scheme. During the day, I spoke to many people who worked there and came to realise that big data companies are not as ‘old school’ as I had imagined!
DAY THREE
FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS WITH DIGILAB
Digilab set us the apprentice-style task of developing an original app and working out how we could turn it into a business. Leadership, teamwork, and positive mid-set were the main skills we used and developed, and it taught me that everyone needs passion, motivation and goals, in order to achieve what they really want in life.
TIME TO GET SOCIAL WITH HAVAS MEDIA GROUP
DAY FOUR
Paul Frampton, the CEO of Havas Media Group was a real inspiration to me. His energy, drive and passion for the industry and his company were really incredible to see. We worked with the Socialyse team who showed us face recognition technology and how companies use social media positively to connect with the world. We developed and pitched a social media campaign for Nando’s sauce, which was a lot of fun!
DAY FIVE
NEXT GENERATION TECH AT HP E
Day five started off with raspberry pi’s, nerf guns and a speech by James Jones, Director of HP E! From going around their HQ, it was clear to see that there are a huge range of job roles within a tech company. The team were mostly young professionals which was inspiring for me, and the advice they gave on interview skills and CV building which is very useful for me right now.
LOOKING FORWARD SUMMER TECHMIX CAREER CAMP 22-26 AUGUST 2016 Want to come on the next Techmix Career Camp and learn in the offices of some of the world’s leading technology companies? Gain confidence, learn skills and make new friends and contacts. Get involved now! Email: camp@techmixmag.com More details: www.techmixmag. com/career_camp
“BELIEVE IN YOURSELF” The most important thing I gained from this week was confidence. The insight into the technology industry was amazing. It was a challenging week but definitely worth the effort. I realised that I know more than I give myself credit for and I feel like many new doors have been opened for me. Thank you Techmix Career Camp, I had a fantastic time and made many great new friends!
WHO WE ARE City & Guilds helps people get the skills they need to work in a wide range of industries in across the world. Our qualifications and apprenticeships are valued by employers globally, helping people develop their talents and abilities to progress in their career.
equally values technical alongside academic education, working with partners to develop professional qualifications which provide young people with an alternative path to a great career. Prepare people for work throughout their careers A job for life is a thing of the past. Now, people must continually develop their skills throughout their career. By combining knowledge and on-thejob training through apprenticeships and courses
WHAT WE DO
that include work experience, we don’t merely
Develop the skills that industry demands
on to the employment ladder, we provide
We work closely with leading educators
them with the tools and support for long
and global employers to make sure that all
term career success.
provide young people with a first step
of our learning programmes and services meet the shifting skills needs of businesses
Giving you the skills you need
today and tomorrow.
We work closely with employers to ensure students develop the skills that are really needed in
Giving you choice
the workplace. Creating new ways of learning
We promote a broad range of skills education
like our TechBac programme, and looking at how
available at all ages. We are committed to
we can embrace digital technology to best teach
professionalising skills-based education
young people the skills they need to compete in
and seek to create an education system that
the marketplace.
To find out more about the wide range of digital careers City & Guilds can help you access, visit www.cityandguilds.com 56
Cyber security
Technical Engineer
Software Developer
Average salary
Average salary
Average salary
£57,500pa
£35,000pa
£40,000pa
WANT TO GET INTO TECH? See where City & Guilds could take you . . . For jobs like these and hundreds more, City & Guilds has a study option that’s right for you. We have full time college courses like the City & Guilds TechBac which can lead to on-the-job learning with our apprenticeships. Employers have told us exactly what skills they need so you can be sure you’ll be learning the right things to land your dream job. Our courses can also help you get to uni or into a higher apprenticeship equivalent to a Foundation or Bachelor’s Degree.
Find out more about the wide range of digital carers City & Guilds can help you access. Visit www.cityandguilds.com
APPRENTICE: YOU’RE HIRED Education isn’t for everyone. As we’ve recently seen in the news, the amount of time we spend in education is, in part, down to our genes. Some of us learn well in a structured classroom environment, others learn better by doing. For many reasons, apprentice schemes are becoming an ever more popular alternative to further education. With more popularity comes more choice, and there are some quality apprenticeships available for those choosing their next step. To gain a better understanding, we asked Jemma, a current apprentice at Initiative UK to write about her experience so far. JEMMA BAYLIS – BROADCAST APPRENTICE AT INITIATIVE UK After going through the recruitment process with Arch Apprenticeships, I managed to land a role as broadcast apprentice at Initiative UK. The role is full time, with two additional study days each month which help me to progress towards my final qualification; a Level 3 in Digital Marketing provided by City & Guilds. I joined Initiative as our first apprentice in September 2015. Since then, we have had three more join us, with more teams hoping to employ an apprentice in the near future. My decision not to go to university was mainly driven by my passion for the media industry. I felt like I always knew that it was the path I wanted to take, and although I was offered all five university places to study Advertising, I thought, ‘Why spend
three years learning about it, when I have an option to join the industry now?’ Since starting at Initiative, I have worked across planning and buying on over ten of our clients, within television and radio. I’ve met some amazing people from a wide range of companies, and take pride in being able to have these connections. However, my experience so far hasn’t just been ‘broadcast’ based. I also help to keep the @InitiativeUK Twitter and Instagram profiles up to date with anything we find innovative and exciting, and of course, with photographs of our many media lunches and gifts. Recently, I was invited back to my previous secondary school’s ‘Careers Day’, to talk about what I do and why I chose to do it – considering that I only left Sixth Form last summer, I felt pretty honoured. By the end of both my morning and afternoon presentations I had many students, who hadn’t previously considered doing an apprenticeship, approach me buzzing with questions about the scheme and about working in media. To make that impression on so many other young people, and to at least get them thinking about the idea of undertaking an apprenticeship, is just a great feeling – and I’m only six months through! It is safe to say that I never thought I would be lucky enough to land myself an apprenticeship quite like this one. Over the past couple of years, apprenticeships have grown and become more recognised across many industries in the UK. Some advice that I would give to prospective and aspiring apprentices would be to be persistent in your search, browse regularly on websites such as the Government’s Get in Go Far website www.getingofar.gov.uk or www. archapprentices.co.uk/jobs and to always maintain your ambition and focus on finding a company that is not only right for you, but that is just as determined for you to succeed as you are.
To find out more about City & Guilds apprenticeships visit www.cityandguilds.com
A FREE EVENT FOR ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY THIS SUMMER. REGISTER TODAY AT FESTIVALOFKSILLS.CO.UK AND SELECT ‘SKILLS CAREERS FAIR’ TICKET OPTION.
JULY 9, 2016| 10:00-16:00 AGED 16 – 25? LOOKING FOR A GREAT NEW CAREER? OR AN EXCITING NEW COURSE? THE FE WEEK FESTIVAL OF SKILLS AT CAPEL MANOR COLLEGE IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO DISCOVER WHAT TO DO NEXT. MEET WITH COLLEGES AND LEARNING PROVIDERS OFFERING INSPIRING COURSES AS WELL AS SOME OF LONDON’S TOP EMPLOYERS. TRY A RANGE OF JOBS IN OUR FUN, INTERACTIVE ‘HAVE-A-GO’ SESSIONS AND HAVE YOUR SAY ABOUT JOBS IN OUR YOUTH DEBATE. BRING YOUR FAMILY FOR TOURS OF THE BEAUTIFUL GARDENS, ZOO AND FUN ACTIVITIES.
THIS IS A FREE TO ATTEND EVENT FOR ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY THIS SUMMER.
HEADLINE PARTNER
@SKILLSFESTIVAL FESTIVAL@FEWEEK.CO.UK FESTIVALOFSKILLS.CO.UK
LEAD STRATEGIC PARTNER
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
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BUSINESS
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INTERCHANGE
VANESSA BUTZ, MANAGING DIRECTOR
THE FUTURE OF THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT.
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s I sit talking with Vanessa at 4pm on a cloudy Thursday in May, we check the Startup Tracker on Startup Britain’s website. It tells us that a total of 2,949 businesses have launched TODAY alone. An enormous figure. This tells us two things. First that the buzz words ‘entrepreneur’ and ‘startup’ are continuing their surge of popularity. Second, that the world of work as we know it is on course for a massive shift in culture.
top talent by ensuring their offices are bedecked with the latest quirks along with the most up-to-date tech.
Let’s take a look at our parents’ generation. For the most part, they took a corporate job when leaving education and probably stayed within that organisation for their entire working lives. But now, people just starting out in their careers are expected to have an average of 12-15 jobs throughout their lives. With a shift in mentality meaning that it’s more commonplace to move and shop around for the right job for you, the working environment that a company offers is more important than ever.
“A thriving ecosystem of tech entrepreneurs, Atrium will help to cross-pollinate industries like never before; break down traditional silos and open up the whole idea of creative disruption.”
In recent polls, the most valued perks of a job are regularly tipped as flexible working hours and an innovative work environment. Whether you’re one who values a ping-pong table or a free on-site café, a bean bag chillout area or a rooftop bar, companies are going all out to lure in the 60
With so many entrepreneurs and startups launching every day, there’s a huge demand for co-working environments which can house hundreds of small companies in one space. These are popping up all over the capital and are often fantastic hubs for innovation, creating a working
community alive with like-minded, creative bodies. Pioneering this space is Interchange. Fresh on the scene, and already thriving in the heart of iconic Camden, Interchange’s first two buildings fly high above the historic, tourist-fuelled Stables Market. Both Triangle and Atrium are sleek, glass, purpose-built centres interchange.io
Vanessa Butz for modern digital trade and are set to reinvigorate business in the area. What puts Interchange apart from other co-working environments is Vanessa’s vision to build a community of creative and technology companies who gain benefit from sharing the space and are provided with opportunity to collaborate and come together in the range of community events organised by Interchange. The Atrium alone holds space for 600 permanent desks, plus co-working hot-desks. And with room sizes ranging from 4-person offices up to 100+, there is opportunity for hundreds of small companies to inhabit the environment. The community provides a wealth of opportunity to network with potential investors and related companies. Material benefits include; three large event spaces, a digital innovation lab (in association with CISCO Creates), a maker lab for building product prototypes, two rooftop terraces with bar and café facilities (and barbeques in summer), plus a large restaurant, living walls, table-football, table-tennis and and on-site gym to follow. Wowza! Its mission is to help others pioneer change in the digital and creative industries, but Interchange itself is spearheading the change of the working environment. Atrium is enjoyable to spend time in, the community benefits are unparalleled, and as a package the space encourages creativity and success to prosper. The workplace as we know it is changing, and Interchange is setting the standard.
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“At Tech City I’m currently studying a BTEC Level 3 in Engineering. I want to be an aerospace engineer and this course will give me a really good start to achieve that. I am so fortunate that Tech City College are sponsoring me to go to Houston, Texas and visit NASA! The thing I’m most excited about is seeing the world’s biggest collection of extraterrestrial rocks and learning about space flight simulators and zero gravity. Tech City are helping me to make my dreams a reality and I can’t wait!” ALEX ABLEY, TECH CITY COLLEGE STUDENT
T
ech City College is a brand new Aspirations Trust Academies Post-16 STEM specialist College. We are committed to raising students’ aspirations so that all young people reach their fullest potential and achieve the success they desire. Tech City is a small and friendly College with big ambitions. We aim to educate and train the next generation of scientists, engineers, technicians, entrepreneurs and innovators. Our students will not only have the opportunity to follow their areas of interest in state of the art environments in science, computing, design and engineering but they will gain invaluable practical, professional and personal skills through the bold new curriculum called Aspirations Portfolio. In close partnership with the best in the industry, students work on live briefs and solve real-life industrial and community problems. We are confident that students who attend Tech City will develop a great foundation for their future with a variety of progression routes into employment and further or higher education. If you wish to visit the College or enroll please contact us on info@techcity-aspirations.org or call 0203 301 3620.
PRINCIPAL MS NASRIN FARAHANI WITH ALEX ABLEY
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www.techcity-aspirations.org
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Techmix Magazine reports only on the things that matter most: Technology and Innovation. Business and Careers. Creativity and Success. We are here to inform and to inspire. The content of Techmix is gently mapped to the curriculum to compliment studies and provoke interest outside the classroom. It is created to support educators and bridge the gap between education and industry.
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Together we can inspire passion in the next generation.
If you’re a school, college, university or community group, and you’re interested in connecting your students to industry, Techmix can help. We have a huge network of companies within the technology, digital, media and creative industries who are looking to inspire the younger generation and hire fresh new talent. Get in touch info@techmixmag.com
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LOOKING AHEAD
5 NORTH
6 SOUTH
TURING FESTIVAL
DIGITAL CATAPULT
The two-day Turing Festival brings together a whole host of industry leading speakers. On day-one, talks will focus on product and marketing, including how to develop a product and your own leadership skills. Day two is focused around the changing growth of business and how to succeed.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, start-up or large organisation within tech, Digital Catapult helps businesses to grow by sharing data and working together.
Various locations, Edinburgh 8-9 August 2016 £149 www.turingfestival.com
DRONE PILOT TRAINING EVENT WITH DJI AND HELIGUY Want to try out a drone before buying? Or get some inspiration for building a business around drones? The Drone Pilot training event will teach you everything you need from driving technique to business law.
9 Jupiter Court, Newcastle 13 July 2016 £ Free www.heliguy.com
HOLLYWOOD PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION TECH RETREAT 2016 The very latest technology in broadcast and cinema and its impact now and in the future on the media industry. The two main themes are: Ultra Everything and Emerging Media Technology.
Heythrop Park Resort, Oxfordshire 13-14 July 2016 £700 www.hollywoodprofessionalassociation.com
3 WEST
4 EAST
DIGITAL 2016
FILM AND COMIC CON, 2016 See your favourite stars from TV, Film and Comics, along with activities like photo shoots with the stars, panels, autograph sessions and hundreds of stalls full of TV and Film memorabilia.
Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield 14-15 August 2016 www.filmandcomicconsheffield.com
VENTUREFEST WEST MIDLANDS A one-day event offering tech start-ups networking opportunities and a forum for presenting practical advice, stimulating ideas and funding options to entrepreneurs.
NEC, Birmingham 23 June 2016 £ Free www.venturefestwm.co.uk
101 Euston Road, London 23-24 June 2016 £ Free www.digitalcatapultcentre.org.uk
A conference and exhibition at the forefront of the digital revolution. It brings together over 2,000 delegates for two days of networking and keynote speakers. Celtic Manor Resort, Newport 6-7 June 2016 www.digital2016.com
TECHUG DUBLIN TechUG is a networking event specifically for an independent community of IT professionals. The Westin, Dublin 9 June 2016 £ Free www.technologyug.co.uk
EMAIL: EVENTS@TECHMIXMAG.COM WWW.TECHMIXMAG.COM GET IN TOUCH NOW
Your career. Your way. Draw on all of your experiences and bring the whole you to J.P. Morgan. We’ll make sure you have the training and opportunities to turn your talent into an exciting career. Wherever you want to go, and whatever you want to achieve, we’ll help you get there. If you’re talented and driven to succeed, start your journey with us on one of our apprenticeship programmes at our Bournemouth campus. Whether you are interested in Financial Services or Technology we have a programme that’s for you.
Start your journey. 3 jpmorgan.com/apprenticeship or jpmorgan.com/technology-apprenticeship
Working at Cisco you’ll be part of a team that cares about its customers, has a lot of fun, and even takes part in changing the lives of those in our local communities. Discover more: @ciscoapprentice facebook.com/ciscoworkexp #wearecisco
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