It’s nearly the end of 2015, and here at Olamalu we are feeling charged with change, with evolution, with progress.
Why so positive? Working in the fast moving technology industry keeps our minds alive and our arms open to progress, and we wanted to dedicate our December blog to the next generation.
Olamalu are web technology experts with a strong belief in supporting, nurturing and developing the next generation. Every year we take on an apprentice from a local college. We dedicate our time to growing their knowledge in our business, mentoring them and ensuring they are given the right opportunities to progress alongside their studies. This takes time, patience and dedication on both sides but is incredibly rewarding.
We also offer work experience over the summer period, and this year we were excited to take on a female programmer, who'd been introduced to a career in technology by Code First: Girls. Technology is a fantastic career for anyone, but unfortunately it doesn’t attract many women. This is a real shame for the industry and for women - a career in technology can be a very rewarding one, which can offer great flexibility. We are passionate about supporting the industry attract more girls.
We also support the next generation through sponsorship of relevant activities or events. This year we sponsored maths packs for numeracy charity Numskills. This provided much needed cash to buy maths equipment for their maths programme. The charity works with schools across Oxford helping pupils in areas of deprivation to improve numeracy skills and their overall enjoyment of learning. Numeracy is vital in any industry, particularly in ours so the opportunity to get involved with a local charity who were helping primary school children to improve and get more interested in maths felt very close to our hearts.
Finally, when talking about evolution and the future, you can’t fail to mention robotics. This December, Olamalu are proud to be one of the key sponsors of the ‘Pi Wars’. Pi Wars is a challenge-based robotics competition in Cambridge in which Raspberry Pi controlled robots are created by teams and then compete in various challenges to earn points. For us, this goes back to the raw excitement of technology – building and programming something and watching it work. It has massive youth appeal and really encourages schools, families and friends to get involved in technology.
So as the year comes to an end, we are looking back with pride at the work we’ve done, but planning ahead with excitement about all the things we are yet to do. Progress never sleeps!
We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.