Latest news with #techconsulting
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘It's never too late for an MBA': how a skills development programme supercharges careers
Tech consultants are key figures in the modern economy, advising every size of business from startups to some of the world's biggest organisations on deploying new technologies and helping to implement gamechanging innovations. It's a fascinating and rewarding career – bringing together both tech and business expertise – that requires constant upskilling. For Korusha Pillay, a senior manager in AI and automation at EY, the opportunity to deepen her knowledge in areas such as leadership and business skills has been invaluable in boosting her career and widening her prospects. She took advantage of the free EY tech MBA to broaden her knowledge of key technologies and explore new opportunities. Just weeks after moving to the UK to take up a role at EY in 2020, Pillay's life was turned upside down as she found herself in lockdown. 'I'm incredibly goal oriented' she says. 'Without something to aim for, I hit a slump.' So when she saw an announcement on an internal EY newsletter about the newly launched tech MBA, she jumped at the chance. On the same day, she drafted a detailed plan to complete the entry requirements and never looked back. To qualify for the course, Pillay completed the EY digital badge programme, which offers training in broad aspects of technology, leadership and business. The learning and development programme is available to all EY people globally, with training covering an extensive range of topics. A bronze badge is typically awarded after 15 hours of study, a silver badge after 30 hours, and more intensive study leads to gold and ultimately platinum badges. Pillay completed 21 badges in subjects such as AI, machine learning, leadership and digital transformation. This gave her the accreditation to join the MBA, where she focused on business, leadership and technology. The course culminated in a number of written research papers and a final project undertaken with other EY people on the course. Her team tackled employee turnover at EY, developing a prototype app inspired by dating platforms to match colleagues with internal opportunities, a project that received a 100% mark in the final assessment. The MBA was a transformative experience for Pillay. It gave her life direction during lockdown, but it also helped her develop contacts across the organisation and learn a range of useful interpersonal techniques. She found she could apply the lessons she learned to her daily work. And crucially, she says, it taught her to be more aware of the limits of her knowledge. 'Sometimes you're in this bubble and think you know everything, but a course like this that stretches across so many boundaries made me realise how much more there is to learn.' The MBA helped her develop her knowledge in areas such as managing clients, resolving conflicts and leadership skills. As one of the first to take the course, she was invited to many presentations, panels and learning events at EY to discuss her experiences. Career opportunities have grown exponentially, she says, 'since I put MBA at the end of my name'. She says the MBA is so appealing as it is free, online, and involves study at your own pace. The course is open to people at different stages in their careers, 'it's never too late', she adds. Run in association with Hult International Business School, the EY tech MBA is available to some 400,000 EY employees in 150 countries regardless of their role or position. For Peter Capsalis, an AI and data senior manager at EY, gaining a deeper understanding of how clients view technology projects has been a major benefit of taking the tech MBA. A chemistry graduate with a master's in data science, Capsalis found the MBA's focus on leadership skills, business strategy and understanding the client's point of view helped with the business side of his role. 'After coming from a developer, technology and data science background, EY's tech MBA gave me more formal organisational knowledge and a better understanding of business strategies and how clients think,' he says. His MBA covered three areas: transformation in a digital age; digital leadership; and competitive business simulations. The last one 'really framed some of the new advances in technology and what that means for an organisation', he says. He has learned practical leadership skills, which has enhanced how he manages his own global teams, which operate across different time zones, and his ability to carry out ideation sessions virtually. And the tech MBA has helped him apply this learning when advising clients on how to manage their global teams. Learning programmes are part of the EY commitment to people development and its employee value proposition, which promises to help employees to 'shape your future with confidence'. The organisation also offers an MBA in sustainability and has a range of other development programmes for staff. Even more ambitiously, EY intends to have a positive effect on the lives of 1 billion people by 2030 through EY Ripples, a global corporate social responsibility programme that will work with entrepreneurs around the world to scale innovative solutions to global problems. More than 1 million people across EY member firms and their communities will be mobilised through the programme, driving the adoption of business models that protect the environment, while unlocking economic opportunity. The programme will ensure the next generation of EY people will develop the skills to find and sustain meaningful work, such as bringing affordable energy to off-grid families and providing safe sanitation for low-income communities. As technology-fuelled business disruption continues to reshape the world, learning and development opportunities and corporate social responsibility programmes such as these are essential for tech consultants to achieve their full potential. To transform businesses and drive sustainable growth around the globe, tech consultants need to constantly re-invent and transform their knowledge. Building and maintaining market-leading skills is key for consultants as they find new approaches to develop transformative solutions for some of the world's biggest organisations. Discover more about tech consulting careers at EY. Join our online talent community to read more career stories and receive all the latest news
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘AI is a very hot topic': why it's a great time to be a tech consultant
In an industry of nebulous and ever-changing job titles, 'tech consultant' stands out as refreshingly straightforward. But when the technology itself evolves constantly, what can consultants expect from a career in this increasingly prominent field? With roots dating as far back as 1849 and 400,000 current employees, EY is one of the major employers of tech consultants around the world. So what exactly does a tech consultant do, and how has that changed in an industry that's now at the forefront of some of the most exciting technological advances in human history? 'I didn't even know what consultancy was,' says EY partner in technology consulting Anthony Byrne, recalling the inception of a career which includes more than a decade working in the utility sector. While the role has become almost unrecognisable in that time, the foundations remain the same, he explains. 'Technology consultancy within EY is focused on client value. We ask our technologists to get deep in a skill set which excites them and gets them out of bed, but to always put it in the context of a business opportunity.' In other words, not suggesting a solution just because it's the shiny new thing. 'Within EY, we've got all the specialisms you'd expect – data and AI, cybersecurity, digital engineering – but it only makes sense when we put all of that together with our business consulting colleagues to challenge the client: to say, where exactly is the value in this?' This way of working, Byrne explains, ensures consultants aren't just adding technology to their clients' businesses because it's exciting, but because it can drive real, measurable change to metrics the client cares most about. To do that, consultants have to stay ahead of a constantly shifting curve. Right now, for instance, 'we have both online and in-room training around AI', says Byrne. 'We have feeds every day sent to our people with the most recent things to come out, and base training to get people more comfortable with [AI] concepts like neural networks and large language models so it's not obscure – to allow them to innovate and be creative about applying it in a business context.' Those business contexts include the world of Scottish liquors. 'We're doing something with a major drinks company, using AI to get more whisky out of barrels, which is really interesting,' says Byrne. 'Using historical data from hundreds of years of doing this, they can use AI to predict when to take the whisky out. It's a powerful thing.' 'AI is a very hot topic,' agrees digital finance transformation manager Candice Tang, speaking not only of the industry but EY specifically, which has invested extensively in its platform. 'When we're giving advice to clients, we're always looking into the latest technology – like now, is there anything that AI can help with? It can save a lot of effort.' But how does Tang stay on top of changes in AI and the wider industry? 'There's a lot of internal training. A couple of years ago, the firm launched its EY tech MBA' – a fully-accredited qualification with Hult International Business School, available free to all EY employees – 'and we have regular 'learning weeks' with a lot of virtual classes. The only challenge is time: during delivery we're very busy. So we have 'unplugged days' [where employees are encouraged to block their calendars], so you can focus on learning.' And it's more than just the coding masterclasses you might expect, says Tang. 'One [class] was about our internal tools: how we can use bots, and also different kinds of AI-use cases and technologies, the differences between them and how they're trained and built.' One clear thread that emerges from both Byrne and Tang is the EY commitment to giving its best and brightest the trust and support they need to fulfil their potential. The key purpose of EY is to help build a better working world, says Tang. 'I do believe the firm is led by this vision. If you have any problems in your work or personal life, there's always someone you can find help from. We have counsellors, we have buddies, we have mentors.' Refreshingly, some of those mentors are high-level women, she adds. 'I would say it's good being a woman like myself [at EY]. We actually get a lot of opportunities and exposure. We have a women in technology forum, for instance, and quarterly events with diversity and inclusiveness sessions – one exercise asked our female partners to share their experiences around work-life balance, especially when you have kids. And we have women in tech awards for people who've made an impact.' Tang goes on to describe an idea a colleague put forward that became a successful training programme. 'As long as you have the initiative, you can get support.' It's the combination of this forward-thinking, supportive culture and the breakneck pace of tech development that makes it such an exciting time to be a tech consultant at EY, says Byrne. 'This thing is moving week by week. There's a new [AI] model that we released last week which is 10 times better than the previous. We build your confidence to use innovative, creative thinking to say: 'How can we create value for our clients and for society?' It's a great fun place to be.' Discover more about tech consulting careers at EY. Join our online talent community to read more career stories and receive all the latest news
