Specialisterne Academy brought Simon Maibom out of unemployment

It took a bit of time before Simon Maibom was accepted into the scheme at Specialisterne Academy:however, there is no doubt that letting him join this scheme was a good investment for all parties involved. Now, Simon Maibom has a full-time job as a consultant at Specialisterne.

From unemployed to full-time work

Simon Maibom had never completed his thesis, he had problems finding his right path and was feeling down, so he spent a couple of years away from the labour market. He was diagnosed quite late and did not have the necessary tools or support during his studies:

“The other projects at the computer science course were group-based but you had to write the thesis on your own. And as I had still not been diagnosed, I did not have the tools for creating the structure needed for this task. At the same time, I moved quite often during this period because I was no longer allowed to live in student housing. I used up all my resources dealing with this unpredictability.”

Simon Maibom dropped out of the course and spent two years in job centre processes without getting anywhere.

Simon brushed up his competencies at Specialisterne Academy

During the two years of being unemployed, his professional knowledge became partly redundant. First of all, he was not using his knowledge, and secondly, the area was constantly changing.

Only when he started at Specialisterne Academy did he gain both the professional level and the daily structure needed to land a job.

At Specialisterne Academy, the candidates are asked to solve actual tasks that companies have deposited with the consultancy department at Specialisterne. In this way, Simon Maibom was able to update his knowledge and he tried out his skills on various tasks and potential solutions.

“Brushing up my competencies felt good and it was nice to have a daily structure that allowed me to figure out how much I was able to work. At the beginning, I only worked reduced hours but now I am working full-time. Realising that I was able to handle that was a great feeling.”

Problem solving as a means of motivation

During the two years of being unemployed, his professional knowledge became partly redundant. First of all, he was not using his knowledge, and secondly, the area was constantly changing.

”Datalogi er en meget problemløsningsorienteret uddannelse. Og hos Specialisterne Academy fik jeg genopfrisket min metode i, hvordan løser jeg problemet foran mig. For det er sådan det fungerer ude i virksomhederne – der er en konkret udfordring, som vi skal løse.”

Specialisterne Academy bygger bro fra uddannelse til arbejdsmarked

På den måde fungerer Specialisterne Academy som en brobygning fra en uddannelse, hvor hovedvægten er på den teoretiske viden, til den virkelige verden, hvor man skal bruge sin viden til at løse konkrete problemstillinger.

Simons Maiboms oplevelse er, at han gennem Specialisterne Academy har fået koblet sine kompetencer til virksomhedernes behov:

”Der er meget stor forskel fra universitet til den virkelige verden. Specialisterne Academy viser udpluk af de problemstillinger og fagområder, som forskellige virksomheder har i deres kontekst.”

Den brobygning er en helt afgørende faktor for, at Simon Maibom i dag arbejder som konsulent for Specialisterne. Hans arbejdsopgaver består for tiden i at opbygge en database for CBS, der skal generere viden om tendenser i de årsrapporter, virksomheder indleverer til Finanstilsynet.

På sigt håber han på at kunne arbejde med softwareudvikling:

”Jeg vil gerne lave softwareudvikling, jeg vil ikke forske. Med softwareudvikling har du en konkret nød, du skal knække, og lave et værktøj til det problem.”