This 30-week programme is aimed at non-IT graduates and gives them the opportunity to kick-start their career in the software industry.

In the academic year 2006-07, Momentum reported that 70% of all graduates gained employment within the Software Industry – highlighting the enormous success of this project.   Typical examples of those placed within the Belfast Met came from a range of diverse backgrounds and cultures and were graduates in languages, business and theology.   We are proud to say that graduands were successful in gaining employment within the IT industry in companies such as Liberty, Citigroup, Kainos, Relay and Fugitsu to mention but a few.

Anna McCoy is a Modern Languages graduate in French from the University of Strathclyde. Although she’d had no previous IT experience, Anna performed well during her studies on the Software Professional and ended up with two offers of jobs. She was delighted to accept the post of Graduate Trainee Analyst with Citigroup and is excited about the future development of her career in the software industry.

Ian Graham CEO (Momentum) commented “My organisation, Momentum, represents nearly 200 ICT companies in Northern Ireland, from small, local companies to large multi national organisations employing hundreds of people. This is an exciting time in the software industry, which is experiencing tremendous growth – so I’m delighted that, in engaging in this course, you will have the opportunity to be a part of the success that many of my member companies are experiencing. ICT is a key driver of economic growth in Northern Ireland, but we depend entirely upon the skills and expertise of the people employed in the industry. That’s why the Software Professional is so important – it gives us the chance to bring a wider range of people, graduates in other disciplines, into the industry.

We in the industry are working closely with the Centres of Excellence in Software Engineering in Further and Higher Education. There has been close involvement between Momentum, a number of companies and the colleges in designing the curriculum for this new course.”