Training women refugees in the tech industry

Thanks to your drifts, this back-to-school season has been a success for Sistech and the many refugee women we support (the Fellows).

Our team in France began our vocational training program, the Springboard, with a cohort of 31 women. They met for the first time on October 4 in Paris, at Raise, one of our key partners. Over the next few weeks, these women will have the opportunity to identify a career path. Guided by volunteers, they will then devote many hours to individual study, acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to land a job in the tech or digital sectors. The Sistech team will ensure that they enroll in courses relevant to their goals, provide them with computers, and organize baby sitting if necessary, so that they have time to  complete their studies.

  

In parallel, we launched our Boost program in Italy with 15 Fellows. A logical sequel to Springboard, Boost prepares women for their job search in the career for which they have trained. Before the end of the year, they will have rewritten their CVs, created a LinkedIn page, developed their professional network and learned how to ace a job interview.
In Greece, we also launched a Boost program at the same time, along with 15 other Fellows.

Your calculations are correct:our re-entry supports 61 women.We're proud of our three programs, but they're just getting started. There's a lot of work (and learning) to come, so keep supporting us with your difts!

The month of July was marked by many memorable moments.

In Italy, Fellows from our Springboard program visited OverIT, a company specializing in the design of so-called "Field Service Management" software. It was an opportunity for them to discover technological careers and make connections as a group. The speech given by a former Fellow left a lasting impression on us all. Originally from Ukraine, this refugee woman discovered OverIT as a beneficiary of our Boost program last year. When she completed our program, OverIT offered her a professional internship. She encouraged the Fellows, who are in the same situation as she was a year ago, to never stop learning and never give up on their dreams.

In Greece and France, more than eighty women have completed our Pathway program. The cohorts celebrated the end of this adventure with the presentation of group projects. Some of the volunteers, who accompany the Fellows in their professional orientation or with language exchanges, were present and even contributed to some of the presentations.

August promises to be a quieter month, with many members of our association taking well-deserved vacations. Our agendas are already full for September, and we're looking forward to moving forward with our mission. Thanks to your drifts, the autumn will be a success for Sistech and the many refugee women we support.