I went to TVision Technology for my Year 10 work experience, where I learnt more about the world of work for a company that is involved in technology.
First day
On Monday, when I got to the office, (Danusia Jolliffe, TVision’s Marketing and Customer Service Director) showed me around the office and showed me the meeting rooms where board meetings and demos are held, the fire exits and the toilets. I then joined her in the Monday Morning Meeting, which is held every week so the TVision team can share their goals for the week ahead.
Meetings with the TVision team
Throughout the week I had one-to-one meetings with employees from a range of different teams, and who do different roles. These were very interesting and helpful to generate ideas of jobs that I may want to do in the future. A few examples of these meetings were:
- One being with a member of the customer support desk team, Ian Robinson. From this conversation, I learnt about how this role required lots of patience and understanding, as well as realising that the customer is not frustrated with you directly but instead the software. Furthermore, Ian said that once their complaint has been fixed, it gives you an overwhelming feeling of joy knowing you have made their day a whole lot brighter.
- A second meeting being with the marketing campaigns executive, Alex Williams. From this one-to-one, I discovered how the marketing automation software (Touchdown) and the website software (WordPress) work from a user’s perspective. Using Touchdown showed how you can see all the read, opened, clicked e-mails, and I now see how it requires a lot of organisation to make sure e-mails are planned and sent at the correct time.
- A third one with a developer, Tak Chipamaunga. We met on a Teams call, I learnt what the developers get given (a blank canvas/out of the box standard Business Central), and then receive the specialised briefing on what the code needs to be changed to. Furthermore, Tak told me how because the code is different for whatever each client needs, you can receive a diverse range of tasks to complete.
Bevica demo
On Wednesday, I watched a Bevica demo that was delivered by one of the consultants, Hamish Kirwan. From this demo, I learnt that Bevica is a software solution where you can store customers/stock or inventory/sales/locations for all your alcohol. To gain access to the software, you must pay a monthly subscription, which allows you access to the platform. It is SaaS software that always gives you the latest version of the technology. There are Bevica user groups twice annually to discuss the product and how it works. Bevica software is compatible with Microsoft Office 365 and Power Platform, and allows for data to be sent over from one application to another (e.g. tables can be sent to Excel from Bevica). The tables storing all your data on Bevica are filterable and contain many interactive features, and can help you find types of alcohol, brand of alcohol, location of the alcohol, stock of alcohol, alcohol %, etc.
WordPress (Blog posts)
On Thursday, I learnt how you upload blogs from WordPress onto TVision Technology’s website. the blog I helped upload was on Managing your Business Central Database Storage. I found out how you add in lists, headers, images, etc. You are required to add tags, a slug, alt text for images, and a meta description. This allows your post to be reviewed by Google for certain search terms. It has a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plug in called Yoast which checks on your content to see the number of words, number of times the keyword/focus word is used (keyword density), number of images, and number of outbound/internal links.
Message of thanks
Overall, I am thankful to every member of TVision Technology who made me feel welcome to the office and a part of the diverse, well-connected community that has been built here. You all helped me learn so much more about what skills and the attitude are required to be part of a company that is in the technology sector. After speaking with every one of you, it has taught me to take risks and expose yourself to different opportunities when you have the chance, as it can help you find a role you really enjoy.
Thank you all for the opportunity,
Isaac, a Year 10 student at the Winston Churchill School in Woking.
