A happy moment for Laun at graduation
Facing barriers in the UK
When Luan Murilo de Oliveira e Souza moved to Manchester from Brazil, he could barely speak English. “Many times, I didn’t understand what people were saying on the street, I couldn’t make friendships, and everything was very difficult,” he recalls. Despite having a degree in civil engineering, Luan struggled to find work in his field and took jobs as a warehouse operative, which left him unhappy and unfulfilled.
That’s when his English teacher recommended CodeYourFuture (CYF), a free programming course that equips disadvantaged people with the skills to become software developers. “I decided to put Engineering aside and start a new career in the IT area, because it’s an area I’ve always liked,” says Luan.
Becoming a software developer was not easy
The path was challenging. Luan was initially shy about his English abilities: “I always thought that I never got a job as an Engineer because I wasn’t born in England.” But he persevered, making CYF his top priority.
“If I had a rest day but I had a CYF activity I would do the activity, I left everything aside and invested my time and my focus in the course.”
Luan’s hard work paid off after he finished the programme.
Luan’s hard work paid off.
By the end of the intensive year-long course, Luan’s transformation was remarkable. His confidence had soared, and he felt like a different person. “I am much more confident in myself, in my English, in working as a team, in working in the IT area,” he says. A particular highlight was delivering a final project for a real client. “I was very happy when we managed to deliver our final project to the client and he really liked the result.”
CodeYourFuture also helped Luan develop critical soft skills
In addition to technical skills, CYF equipped Luan with vital employability skills like teamwork, time management and conflict resolution. “I learned to work in a team, I improv
ed my confidence a lot, I improved my English, I learned to solve conflicts, I learned my time management, I learned to be more focused.”
With his newfound skills and confidence, the next step was the job hunt. Thanks to the solid programming fundamentals and invaluable knowledge he had gained through CodeYourFuture, Luan felt optimistic about his prospects.CYF’s support continued after the end of the course with our Software Engineer’s employability journey. This includes collective job searches, mock interviews and CV advice.
Luan reaches his goal!
Luan’s optimism proved well-founded when he secured a role at a consultancy serving public and private sector organizations across the UK’s District Energy industry.
Luan has this advice for anyone thinking of joining CYF: “If you’re thinking about starting this course and you have this opportunity, grab this opportunity because I’m sure this course will exceed your expectations, the maturity you’ll have in one year will certainly be much greater than what you’ve had in your entire life.”