Record interest in HERoes in IT program offering jobs for women in IT

As many as 300 Ukrainian women applied for a free program for Ukrainian women, initiated and organized by the Unfold.vc venture capital fund from Wroclaw, in cooperation with the Coders Lab IT School.

In the end, 18 selected candidates benefited from a professional course giving them the opportunity to train as manual testers. A prerequisite for participation in HERoes in IT was a good knowledge of Polish. Industry experience or completed courses were not required, what counted was the desire for professional development to enter the IT world. Led by mentors, the online course included support from HR advisors in addition to a workshop track.

“The participants of our course were highly motivated to improve their skills. They already know how to create queries in SQL, and are proficient with Jira. They learned about tools that support testing, such as devtools, SOAP UI and Postman. I will admit that during the course a few women stood out, who certainly have a good chance of finding a job adequate to their skills, and in the near future. Some of the ladies have already received ISTQB certification and are in the process of recruitment interviews.”
– Katarzyna Kędra, lecturer at Coders Lab

The expert explains that a person in the position of manual tester, in close cooperation with the development team, tests and detects software errors at the stage of programming, implementation and operation of websites and web applications.

Manual tester – the profession is in high demand among women. Why?

Industry data confirms that this profession is in high demand among women. According to a Bulldogjob.co.uk report, they account for 37% of all employees in this specialty. This compares with about 10% in the programming field.

At the same time, the demand for tester positions persists, as Pracuj.pl publishes about half a thousand such offers per month. However, competition is increasing, and candidates who stand out for their knowledge, experience and willingness to develop are rewarded. The course organizers emphasize that a manual tester at the junior level can expect to earn about PLN 7,000 net on a B2B contract. Upgrading skills in automation, e.g. Selenium, Java and SQL, makes it possible to double this salary.

“This is the fastest way to enter the IT industry. Enabling professional development is a huge opportunity for Ukrainian women currently in Poland, especially since most of them are still working below their qualifications. Although the boom was followed by a normalization of the demand for IT specialists, it is still a sector with huge potential, the most resistant to the crisis. At Unfold.vc we know the IT environment very well, we support technology companies on a daily basis. Hence our decision to initiate and fund such a project. We care about real professional support, but also about helping them find a job after the course. We decided to help them, because we believe in the idea of “Pay it Forward”.”
– Jakub Sitarz, CEO of Unfold.vc, a fund that invests in startups

What do the participants say about the HERoes in IT program?

For Olesia – an interior designer with 15 years of experience, the course is not only self-development, but also a chance to secure a better future for her family. Although she feels confident in creative work, she is not afraid of challenges in new technologies. By pursuing a course to become a tester, she wants to set an example for her children and support them in their development – My daughter, who is 12, is already learning the Python language, and I will constantly contribute to her development. My son is small, but once he learns to read and write, he will also take programming courses. That’s why I want to expand my skills and horizons, earn more and be an example for children,” says Olesia.

The HERoes in IT program also enrolled ladies who thought about entering the IT industry several years ago. However, the war caused them to drop out of school and change their priorities. In Poland, they can continue their education.

– The IT industry fascinated me already during my studies. Although I had worked as a desk clerk until then, before the war I took a tester course. We managed to organize only four meetings. I tried to educate myself, but it was not successful enough. Now I plan to gain experience and gradually expand my qualifications. Thinking about the future, I would definitely like to stay in the IT industry and further develop myself. Will I return to Ukraine? My heart yearns for my hometown, but for now it is not safe there, the war is unpredictable,” says Marta.

Taya arrived in Poland last March. She made the decision to flee when her home in Kharkiv suffered bombing damage. By the Vistula River she found shelter and a chance to realize her plans – I am very grateful to Poland and the Poles for their help. The course gave me support and the opportunity to study, and most importantly, the prospect of gaining a new profession. I hope it will be the basis for the development of this career,” explains Taya.

Poland is short of at least 150,000 IT workers.

According to a report by the Polish Economic Institute, Poland is short of at least 150,000 IT workers. A way to alleviate the shortage could be a greater presence of women in the industry, as today they account for only 15.5% of those employed in the sector.

– The arguments for hiring women in IT are indeed many. Encouragingly, quite a few entrepreneurs see a clear need to diversify their teams by gender. This increases the innovative potential of technology companies, influencing, among other things, an increase in labor efficiency. This trend should be strengthened,” says the head of the Unfold.vc fund.

Leveling the playing field and the opportunity for success. IT Jobs.

According to EWL’s Cross-Border Mobility Report and the University of Warsaw’s Eastern Europe Study, only one in three war refugees estimate that their current job matches their skills. At the same time, almost 70% of these people have a university degree. Problems in finding a job are often due to limited mobility, especially for women with children, or unfamiliarity with the Polish language. Targeting IT is therefore an opportunity for Ukrainian women to succeed.

– Enabling Ukrainian women citizens to advance their careers, including continuing their education at the university level, is ultimately to solidify our country’s position as an IT hub in the region. Especially since we hear from female students that they plan to stay in the Vistula for longer. The first step to getting them active in the workforce is to provide them with education,” stresses Jakub Sitarz of Unfold.vc.

This is a good time, because even a slowdown in the technology industry will not stop its potential.

“The situation in the IT sector is much more optimistic than in other areas of the economy. According to a Gartner report, globally, companies’ spending on software development, including testing, will increase by nearly 10% in 2023. Other industries can only dream of such increases. Against this background, the Polish market seems particularly dynamic. In recent years, our country has become one of the most important IT service providers in Europe.”
– Mikolaj Demko, Chief Innovation Officer at Coders Lab

The action was initiated and funded by the Unfold.vc fund. The manual tester course was implemented in cooperation with Coders Lab school. HERoes in IT aimed to help Ukrainian women gain new skills and start careers in IT.

Unfold.vc from Wroclaw. What they do.

A WSE-listed Wroclaw-based venture capital fund focused on financially supporting technology projects with high growth potential. It invests without a specific time horizon and at various stages of development: pre-seed and seed, as well as at a later stage, buying back shares or stocks.

The fund’s portfolio includes projects in the medtech, biotech, martech, foodtech or gaming companies. It backs Timecamp, Brand24, Sundose, Infermedica, Primetric, PixelRace, Exit Plan Games, Giblib and neurocare group, among others.