Entrepreneur (own company: Exact Match ) |
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| The PRO::ICT database provides supportive advice and best practise solution in particular for parents, teachers at schools and colleges, youth trainers, job counsellors and human resource managers. |
Interview | Ilja van den Berg
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Entrepreneur (own company: Exact Match ) |
Name: Ilja van den Berg
Age: 31
Education: Information Engineering (Applied Science), specialisation in entrepreneurship, Professional University of Amsterdam
Current profession: Entrepreneur (own company Exact Match); Exact Match intermediates between ICT students for internships and professional jobs in ICT. Exact Match also develops web applications for SME’s.
1 Job Orientation
1.1 When did you decide on doing vocational training in IT?
I used to be already interested in computers and everything about that. My father worked in ICT, so I was brought into contact with ICT at an early stage. At school I enjoyed mathematics and other science subjects, so for me it was kind of a obvious choice.
1.2 Why do you think did you choose this specific education?
I choose for Information Engineering at the Professional University of Amsterdam because I wanted to study IT, but also study communication and entrepreneurship (business economics). Information Engineering is a combination of those three disciplines.
1.3 Who supported you doing your career decision phase?
Nobody in particular, ICT was not a very unusual choice for me. Of course, my father worked in ICT and I liked those subjects already in school.
1.4 What is needed to change career counselling?
I would not know since I directly started for myself as an entrepreneur. I could decide my own way.
2 Educational training
2.2 What is it what you especially liked in your vocational training?
Together - Yes, very much, the course reflected a good and interesting combination of informatics, communication and business management. I liked the project oriented approach; you had to solve projects in teams in which other students and teachers continuously reflected on your behaviour, communication/presentation skills. This experience was most important since technical knowledge is quickly outdated, but other skills as communication/project solving, presentation, etc. do not get outdated.
2.3 You have the chance to do advertisement for your profession. Please give us some good reasons why to choose this job.
In my profession you can make a division in the sort of competences:
1. Entrepreneurship competences: a feeling for perseverance, flexibility, ability for problem solving.
2. Content competences: Recruitment of young students, people’s knowledge, applying technical knowledge (you have to understand what kind of employer a client – e.g. ICT company-needs)
3 Differences women and men
3.1 Women are still underrepresented in IT profession, why do you think this is the case?
On secondary schools I regularly give information on the ICT sector, working (as a woman) in ICT. The way I perceive those girls is that they have quite a traditional idea on what their careers will be in, especially the girls who come from a non-native Dutch family. They have a very traditional way of thinking about their own choices for follow-up courses and professions. Many of them think ICT only refers to programming and working with a computer the whole day. If I tell them about the communication, project management, team work, they react quite surprised on this information.
3.2 What are some typical prejudices which maybe also appeared to you?
My business associate is a man. At some point potential clients turned to his direction if they wanted some information concerning technical subjects. I also noticed that I encouraged clients in doing so, so I took that position quite consciously.
Furthermore, I have to say that I benefit, to some point, from the fact that I am a woman working in ICT. Men somehow bestow me more easy a business assignment, they do not consider me as much as competition than their male counterparts. Since I am one of those few women in ICT people will remember you if they have work to do.
3.3 What would you advice girls who also want to go into IT?
As I mentioned before, I think women have in some sort of way a privileged position to take upon ICT. Women usually communicate fairly easy and that is an advantage for this job. You are able to develop your own ideas and ICT is easy to combine with other fields of subject, business management, entrepreneurship, communication.
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