Software Testing Academy Programme
Through our Software Testing academy programme, we bring together the people’s skills and emerging technology together.
We recruit the talented graduates, train them for skills and deploy them as IT business professionals to work with our clients by creating careers for them and bridge the digital skills gap.
Our academy programme is tailored to bridge the gap between university and the professional workplace.
AscentIQ’s Technical Graduate Programme offer an opportunity for the fresh graduates to launch their successful career in tech world.
Our training programme will equip the found talented resources with everything they need to get started on breakthrough projects with our clients and make their mark and timestamp their presence. This could see the resources using next generation security and automation tools to defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber-security threats and quality issues leveraging machine learning to predict and solve urgent issues affecting domains like Banking, Insurance, healthcare and manufacturing, as well as creating innovative digital experiences across a range of industries, including travel, finance and broadcast media.
We are looking for people who have a real passion for tech and innovation and the candidates don’t need any prior technical experience to begin with. There has never been a more exciting time to join the tech industry than during this pandemic time where the businesses are pushed to pillar to post for survival. The only means for them is to increase their online presence using emerging cloud and digital technologies to establish their businesses.
What to expect on the Technical Graduate Programme at AscentIQ
AscentIQ’s Technical Graduate Programme begins with a comprehensive training period to equip the graduates with the software testing skills they require to work with our clients. During training, graduates will learn what it’s like to work in a software development environment, using an agile methodology to collaborate with cross-functional teams. They will be exposed to work on dynamic challenges such as the delivery of real-world software applications, ranging from web-based to machine learning and data science to quality assurance and cloud technologies. In addition, our training includes modules on professional skills to ensure graduates have the confidence to start making a difference for our clients from day one.
On successful completion of the training, graduates will be placed with one of our industry-leading clients where they will work as a fully integrated member of the QA team. They will be expected to put their training into practice and gain valuable experience working on cutting-edge projects. To add to that more, we will be there to support the graduates through every step of their career journey with us.
Why choose the AscentIQ Software Testing Graduate Programme?
As a Software Tester graduates will play a vital role in improving quality and reduce risk throughout the whole Software Development Lifecycle. Thorough Software Testing will prevent live incidents, which, depending on the purpose of the software, could cause significant reputational damage, financial loss or even, in extreme cases, loss of life like when testing applications related to Ambulatory services and Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
We will provide the selected graduates with several weeks of high-class industry-recognized training, delivering the skills through standard materials, upskilling sessions and confidence to launch their career as a Software Tester. Once trained, they will be deployed as a QA Consultant to work with our clients, where they will gain valuable commercial experience with some of the most prestigious names in the business.
We have several employee support programmes designed to help graduates throughout their career journey with us including pastoral care, wellbeing and mentoring initiatives, in addition to learning and development support.
What you’ll do on the Software Testing Graduate Programme at AscentIQ
Starting with the fundamentals of Software testing, graduates will learn how to write and execute test cases based on different use case scenarios for each user stories from the epics, assess and manage risks, report results and communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels of seniority throughout the development lifecycle. Graduates will also learn the fundamentals of Java programming, that will allow them to work with test automation tools and frameworks, such as Selenium Webdriver and Cucumber.
Graduates will learn how to successfully test in both Waterfall and Agile environments, giving them experience with different software working methodologies. To certify and validate your new skills, AscentIQ also offers you access to the ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level qualification.
Once on-site, Graduates will work in fast-paced digital environments supporting projects that deliver innovative new features and software across mobile and web, from both a functionality and user experience perspective. Graduates could be testing anything from self-service checkout machines and software for retailers, regulatory reporting systems for global banks, advertising scheduling systems for large media organisations, vehicle diagnostic applications for the automotive industry, alarm communication and alert system application for emergency services and much more.
Software Testing career prospects
A career in Software Testing is incredibly versatile and offers fantastic professional career progression opportunities, either in a technical or business role. Taking on a business-focused role will see you fulfilling the duties of a project manager but specifically managing the test process e.g. managing testing budget and timescales for a project, writing test plans and strategies, assigning testing tasks to testers and more. A technical role often requires a deeper knowledge of programming languages and other bespoke technologies.
Here are just a few of the possible paths you could pursue:
- Test Lead
- Test Manager
- Programme Test Manager
- Head of Testing
- Test Automation Engineer
- Operational Acceptance Testing Engineer (OAT)
- Security Testing Engineer.
Key skills for a Software Test Analyst
- Analytical mindset to identify the variety of different tests that could be run to validate specific functionality
- Curiosity to think of a range of approaches that could be used to break the software
- Professional pessimism to see the negative aspects of software no matter how high in quality it seems
- Attention to detail to identify defects.
Do you qualify for the Software Testing Graduate Programme?
Do you think you’ve got what it takes to pursue a career as Software Test Analyst? At AscentIQ, we’re looking for ambitious graduates with a passion for business and technology to join our QA team. We accept candidates from all universities and there’s no need for any prior experience or a STEM background! We also ask that you are:
- Educated to degree level (2:2 or higher)
- Passionate about a career in IT
- Eligible to work in the UK
- An excellent communicator
- Geographically flexible within the UK
- Able to support yourself financially during the training period
- Able to commit to the full 2-year graduate careers programme
- We prefer STEM background graduates though we compromise at some exceptional cases for Non-Stem graduates
Recruitment Stages and Application process
- Apply Online
- Telephone Interview
- Video Interview
- Online tests
- Final stage Interview
1. Apply Online – Simply submit your application and CV here to kick-start your journey with AscentIQ
2. Telephone Interview – A member of our recruitment team will call you to discuss the programme and your career goals. This is also a great opportunity for you to ask us any questions you might have and get a feel of AscentIQ.
3. Video Interview – During the video interview, we will ask you a few questions to find out more about you and your career goals. This can be completed from your computer, tablet or mobile phone.
4. Online tests – Here you will undertake numerical, verbal reasoning and IT aptitude tests to assess your skill sets, so we can make sure you are aligned to a role that matches your strengths.
5. Final stage Interview – This is your chance to meet the other graduates you could be training with and find out more about AscentIQ Technical Graduate programme. The interview will be a strength-based interview and will focus on your ability and potential rather than previous experience.