We sat down with our intern Luke to talk about how he’s settled in at EssentialSkillz, what he’s learnt so far and what he hopes to achieve in the future. 

My name is Luke Gibbons and I’m currently two months into an eight-month web development internship with EssentialSkillz.

I’m originally from a small town in County Sligo called Riverstown but have been in Galway for the past 2 and a half years studying Computer Science and IT in NUIG.

I chose to do my internship with EssentialSkillz as the company offered a very enticing internship package which attracted me to the position. I am ambitious and wanted to get involved in a hands-on internship that would give me a real sense of the reality in a role as a Web Developer in a tech company.

My day to day work mostly consists of project work, using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The project that I am currently working on has allowed me to be creative in finding solutions in adding new features to the authoring tool on the WorkWize system. The team and I are developing new features and updating the design of the systems front end. The area of the project that I have completed is based on creating a responsive layout for the courses. This allows the courses to be used seamlessly on all screen sizes (mobile, tablets, etc.).

I am currently working on implementing the ability for users to add YouTube and Vimeo videos to the course slides when they are creating their own course contents. Working on this project has exposed me to new skills and tools, and has taught me how to manage my time and prioritise tasks in a more efficient manner. It has allowed me to be creative in finding the most efficient solutions to ensure that usability and design is the best it can be. This has taught me a lot of technical and personal skills that I will be taking with me in my future professional and academic life.

Another benefit of working in EssentialSkillz is being around experienced developers. The developers on my team are always quick to share their knowledge and experiences with me which has allowed me to gain a lot of knowledge on a variety of subjects that I have not come across in college. Their advice has been invaluable as I can get an insight into what training and work experience they have had to allow them to progress in their career paths.

I have learned a lot of product knowledge around the WorkWize systems and company-specific procedures. I have also expanded on my understanding of Vue, design paradigms, and web accessibility features to name a few. I have improved my communication, team working, presentation and time management skills also. In particular, I was eager to improve on my presentation skills which I feel have really developed as I recently gave a presentation to my manager who gave me positive feedback on the delivery and the content. I have gained confidence in this area as a result.

I have another 6 months of my internship to complete, and after this, I will be progressing into the final year of my degree. I am currently considering which path I would like to take after I graduate next year. I am interested in the possibility of continuing on in academia and research by applying for a masters degree in the area of Web Development. On the other hand, my time at EssentialSkillz has also piqued my interest in getting my career as a Web Developer underway. There is also a chance that I may go travelling so that I can get some experience of different cultures and broaden my horizons.

Thinking about joining the EssentialSkillz team? Learn more about us and visit our career section to see some of our exciting opportunities.