I got accepted into thePresidential Digitalent Program (PDTP) Cohort VI Internship last year. God knows how long I was waiting for a job (sigh). PDTP is a presidential program under theMinistry of ICT run by theICT Authority (ICTA) for ICT graduates to upscale their skills. I will share a more detailed article on PDTP. For today, I wish to share my experience as an Oracle Graduate Trainee.

The Oracle Graduate Trainee Program is among the programs offered in PDTP. The program is as a result of a public-private sector partnership betweenOracle and ICTA. Oracle has signed a 3-year MoU to offer specialized training program on the latest digital technologies including cloud computing for Kenyan graduates in the PDTP. They intend to train 90 PDTP interns for the next 3 years. The brains behind this wonderful program isElly Roimen Mathenge andJewelle Kimotho. They both work as Strategic Leaders at Oracle(Yey, Women In Tech). Luckily, I found myself in the first cohort. You can call us thecrème de la crème.

Selection

The selection was random. ICTA chose 30 interns specializing in software development. Then invited us for an interview at ICTA offices. The interview panel had two ICTA staffs as well as Jewelle Kimotho and Elly Mathenge. The Cohort required 10 interns, which made the interview thorough. Gender parity ratio is one, asOracle is keen to#BreakTheBias.

How has the journey been?

The program take 3 months. It began on March 14th, and its now one month and some days in the program. Currently, the mode of training is virtual. Oracle employees were working from home which could not allow for physical meetup. The program has exposed me to several soft and technical skills. The highlight of my experience is interacting with other interns, and exchanging ideas. Everyday I look forward to having the sessions.

What have I learnt?

The first month focused on soft skills such as goal setting, planning, time management, building effective resume and LinkedIn profiles, presentation, communication, and team work.

In between the soft skill sessions, we have engaged with Oracle experts for practical hands on technical sessions. I have enjoyed interactive sessions with Oracle employees such asJason Bowers,Lenin Oyuga,Caroline Gitonga,Martin Waigwa,Avinash Ramtohul andBrian Onyango.

The interesting part...

Show me a trainee program with book review sessions, I will wait. Can you think of any? Guess what, Oracle Trainee Program does that. We are currently reviewing theAtomic Habits by James Clear. The book is a must-read if you want to understand how to put in place tiny remarkable habits in your daily life.

Each person gets a day to interactively take the team through a chapter. During these sessions, we share insights on how to put in place or break a habit. Being an avid reader, you can tell I live for these sessions.

Oracle recently opened their offices, and I can't wait for physical sessions to begin. Looking forward to another month of exciting sessions in this program. And as Elly always reminds us:

Opportunity Meets Preparedness

That is what Oracle Trainee Program is all about -Getting us prepared