Local company, Liberty IT, has been recognised as one of the best places to work in the UK by The Great Place to Work® Institute. To find out what it is like to work with the company we asked Placement student, Natasha Hodgins to tell us about her experience.
Tell us a bit about your job and how long you’ve been with the company.
A couple of years ago, I won the Liberty IT Bursary Award and so did a few months of work experience as part of that. I am currently a Placement student and have worked in that role since summer 2013. I do a lot of testing and programming so it’s great experience for going back to University in final year.
What would you say is the biggest difference between studying and working in an organisation?
Although you have to work as part of a team for University projects, it’s completely different to working as a team in an organisation. Within Liberty IT we have to work with lots of different types of people in a variety of business roles. We need to work together to understand what we want and need. The good thing is that everyone is very helpful and welcoming so if I’ve ever had a problem, someone has always been on hand to help.
Tell us a little bit about your education and how you came to work in IT.
I was interested in Business, IT and Maths and in 6th form at school I got really interested in software engineering and learning about all the different languages and techniques. I also really liked that I could apply my Mathematical skills to the work.
What’s the best thing about working in Liberty IT?
The people – everyone is really friendly and approachable. Especially with being a Placement, having that support network is really beneficial. Also, the training opportunities are fantastic and really help you to develop yourself.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I really like to dance, particularly hip hop. I go to a dance school and we do shows and go to competitions which are fun.
What advice would you give to someone joining Liberty IT?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and approach people with your queries. In my experience, my team members have been really supportive and have always been more than willing to help.
Liberty IT are currently recruiting for a number of roles, check out the vacancies on the Sync NI jobs board or find out more here.
