Welcoming Talent: A Recent Work Experience Placement

Over the past couple of weeks, we had the pleasure of hosting Redeemed on a work experience placement with us, to gain first-hand insight into software engineering and life inside a real tech company.

What started as a short placement quickly became a hugely rewarding experience, not only for him, but for us too.

What He Gained

This was Redeemed's first time working with a real company on a real project, and he approached it with excitement, honesty, and a willingness to learn. At the beginning, he admitted feeling unsure of himself, worried that he was expected to know everything straight away. But through our project work together, he discovered something much more important: great engineering isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about asking questions, understanding the problem, and breaking things down step by step.

Over the six days he spent with us, he:

• Developed confidence in asking questions and communicating his thinking

• Learned to use online tools and resources to strengthen his understanding

• Grew from feeling overwhelmed by advanced SQL to confidently understanding it line by line

• Discovered the importance of logical thinking, data understanding, and problem-solving

• Clarified his future aspirations and confirmed his desire to become a full stack software engineer

Redeemed also shared how working with a close-knit team changed his perception of what software companies look like, seeing first-hand how collaboration, communication, and hands-on leadership shape the way we work at Rubitek. His professionalism, and enthusiasm impressed us. His reflections showed maturity well beyond his experience level, and we’re incredibly proud of how much he achieved in such a short time.

What We Gained

Hosting this placement was genuinely valuable for us too. We got the opportunity to:

• See our platform through the eyes of someone completely new - a valuable perspective

• Reflect on how we explain our work, our logic, and our decision-making processes

• Be reminded of the importance of curiosity, persistence, and asking great questions

• Support a young person taking their first steps into tech, which aligns perfectly with our mission to improve opportunities, confidence, and outcomes for learners

• Experience the energy, honesty, and fresh thinking that early-career talent brings

His thoughtful questions made us examine our own assumptions. His enthusiasm was infectious. And his reflections affirmed the impact small companies can have by giving young people real responsibility, real data, and real problems to solve.

Yesterday, we celebrated the end of his placement over lunch. Our favourite Vietnamese dumpling spot was closed, but he didn't mind - he happily tucked into a very generous portion of chip-shop chips and donner meat instead!

Lunch at the local chippy

A Mutual Success

For Redeemed, the placement solidified his path into software engineering. For us, it reinforced the power of giving opportunities and reminded us why developing talent is at the heart of what we do. We’re grateful for the time he spent with us, and we’re excited to see where his journey takes him next. If his performance with us is anything to go by, he has a bright future ahead.