Starting a brand new IT career with the Cisco IT Essentials course. Meet Adriana.
Adriana Čolakovac had no background in IT when she signed up for the Cisco IT Essentials PC Technician Course. And yet, she managed to land her first role in the field as a desktop support technician just 5 months after completing her studies. Even though she started with no experience, 27-year-old Adriana has been promoted to a senior position within 2 years. This is her take on how learning with ICE Malta helped her break into the tech industry.
I was previously a web designer but I was made redundant when the company I was working for ran into difficulties. It wasn’t easy finding another job after that because the tech world develops fast and my high-school qualifications eventually became outdated. I went from job to job, and when I started working at a call centre, I realised that I particularly liked tackling issues that were related to IT. When one of my colleagues mentioned he was about to start an IT course with ICE Malta, I decided to check it out too.
I considered other part-time courses but it was going to take me a very long time to see the end of it. Whereas with ICE Malta, you get exactly what you need condensed into just a few months of part-time training. I researched the course very carefully before I went for it. The fact that it leads to a Cisco certification, which is a very big name in IT, was important for me. The programme touches on all key IT areas from hardware to network to security – so it’s a comprehensive course that serves as the perfect entry point to the industry.
Definitely. My new career is based on my ICE Malta certifications. I confirmed just how valuable the course was when I found my first IT job shortly after, even though I had no experience. The course speaks for itself. And it’s not just about the certification. I’m 27, so that’s not the age you normally expect to hire employees without experience, especially in Malta where there are traditional learning paths that go all the way back to secondary school. I was worried that I was starting late, that I was going to fall behind, but the course is organised so well that I was able to use the knowledge that I gained on the job as soon as I started.
Settling into this new career was a very smooth process for me and I think that’s due to the quality of the training I received. Even though I had never worked in this field before, I was able to understand the jargon and processes and apply what I learned. It’s very encouraging to start a completely new job and find out that you do, in fact, know what your colleagues are talking about from day one. I thought I was going to feel out of my depth and that it would take me a long time to prove myself, but that wasn’t the case. So I’m very grateful for ICE Malta. Your courses really help people.
I was happy to be back at ICE Malta because you have the right courses that target what the IT world really needs. Once again, the ITIL® 4 Foundation Course educator was amazing and delivered it perfectly. ITIL isn’t very technical so I would have thought that IT people might get bored learning about ITIL, but the energy the educator brought to class made a huge difference. The course was really interactive and engaging, which is exactly how you need a 3-day bootcamp to be.
ITIL is the go-to framework in the IT industry so you always hear about how important it is and how employers are always looking for candidates with ITIL knowledge. I’m very lucky to be working for a company that is willing to invest in its employees. This kind of approach motivates you to be the best that you can and deliver results. It drives me to show them that they are going to benefit from their investment in me.
My new career is based on my ICE Malta certifications. I confirmed just how valuable Cisco IT Essentials was when I found my first IT job shortly after, even though I had no experience. The course speaks for itself.
ADRIANA ČOLAKOVAC
Senior MSP Support Executive
