My Journey with EssentialSkillz – Séimidh O’Baoighill, Customer Success Intern

Internships are a great way for students to develop skills and gain real industry experience.

We caught up with our customer success intern Séimidh to find out a bit about him and what he hopes to achieve during his time at EssentialSkillz.

My name is Séimidh O’Baoighill and I am from County Sligo. I am studying Business Information Systems in NUIG and am currently on placement at EssentialSkillz. 

Why EssentialSkillz?

When choosing a company for my internship, it was important for me to select an organisation where I could continue to develop my knowledge that I have gained through my studies at university, as well as learn new skills to better prepare me for working life in the future. I felt that the Customer Success Specialist internship at EssentialSkillz was the ideal placement for me. As a Customer Success Specialist, I would be managing data, testing software and troubleshooting technical issues, which are all tasks heavily related to my course. Furthermore, a large part of my job would be engaging with clients, which compliments my personality as I enjoy working alongside people to get the most out of each situation. 

My typical day at EssentialSkillz

My typical day at EssentialSkillz starts at 08:00. Each morning, I check my emails as it is my responsibility to deal with the SFTP and bounceback emails. These emails are to be tagged, archived and documented in a spreadsheet so that they can be referred to at later stages, if necessary. Throughout the day, customers regularly contact our office via email or phone with queries. As a Customer Success Specialist, it is my duty to respond to queries in a quick and efficient manner, resulting in a satisfied customer. 

Key takeaways of my internship

After two months of working in the company, I have learned a substantial amount. Firstly, I have experienced and understand what it is like to be immersed in an office environment, which is something I would not have come across in my daily life as a college student. This is important and beneficial for me to gain this experience within an office environment in order for me to prepare for life after college. Furthermore, I have learned to communicate more effectively and efficiently with my team, other departments and clients. This will be extremely helpful for my degree as I will now be able to communicate more efficiently to my fellow classmates and lecturers.

In the coming months, I hope to further develop my knowledge on data management and establish a better understanding of virtual teams, as many of the projects that take place in EssentialSkillz are managed by people working from multiple locations.

What do I like most about EssentialSkillz?

I found that it was very easy to settle into working life at EssentialSkillz. The people around me really welcomed me into the office and I have already made a lot of friends and professional connections. The company hosts many sports and social nights and I am looking forward to getting involved in them. Furthermore, the management staff are really understanding and helpful which gives me great confidence in the company and myself. 

Where do I see myself in the future?

In the future, I hope to have made enough of an impact in EssentialSkillz so that I will be offered a job after I graduate. I would like to work my way up to manage projects and eventually look to obtain a managerial role. 

EssentialSkillz Courses Now Approved by IIRSM

EssentialSkillz is thrilled to announce that our courses are now approved by the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM).

Established in 1975, IIRSM provides practical education, training, advice, resources and networking to help organisations manage risk in a wide array of industries and sectors. They are an independent charity dedicated to championing risk management and driving positive change for employee and organisational wellbeing.

The approval process for online training assesses four key factors, including:

  • Learning experience 
  • Technical content 
  • Trainer/ subject matter expert competence
  • Quality

Course approval brings the value of IIRSM’s independent training and educational standards together with our eLearning expertise. It also ensures we deliver quality training experiences that help enterprises promote employee safety & wellbeing, reduce risk and protect their reputation. 

I want to extend my thanks to everyone involved in the approval process, including our content team who work diligently to ensure that our courses provide customers with engaging learning experiences that adhere to the highest standards of training. We look forward to working with IIRSM again in the future.

– Julian Roberts, EssentialSkillz CEO 

Click here for a full list of our IIRSM approved courses. 

Looking for engaging health and safety training? Take a look at our health and safety online training library. Sign up and try any course for free.

New Omnitrack feature – Export to XML enabling DAC6 reports to HMRC

Register for our DAC6 email updates

In order to integrate Omnitrack into other systems, a robust API is required on both ends. Data needs to be automatically inputted into Omnitrack and data should be easily exported.

In addition to exporting data to Excel, PDF and CSV, Omnitrack allows data to be exported in XML format in order to integrate with other systems.

Example: integrate DAC6 reporting with tax authorities

DAC6 requires tax lawyers, accountants and tax advisers to report certain tax arrangements to local European tax advisers. This process can be automated and streamlined with Omnitrack. In order to report a DAC6 transaction, the data must conform to the tax authority’s “schema”. Omnitrack automatically manipulates the XML file to fit each tax authority specifications.

Coronavirus keeping you at home? Complying with GDPR from outside the office

Due to the recent spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), many employees have been forced for various reasons to work out of the office. As the virus spreads across Europe and global cases approach 100,000, the British government warned that one in five workers in the UK could be off sick during a Coronavirus peak, with many more likely to be in self-isolation due to having returned from certain destinations or having come into contact with infected individuals. Additionally, some organisations have temporarily closed their offices and told workers to work from home as a precautionary measure.

Keeping data safe and secure inside an office is one thing. Keeping it safe outside the office can be trickier. With that challenge in mind, we’re here to present you with seven vital tips on how to keep yourself and your organisation safe from a GDPR and cyber-security perspective when working remotely.

Continue reading

My Journey with EssentialSkillz – Luke Gibbons, Web Development Intern

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.

On-demand webinar: DAC6 – A live demo of our reporting solution

Register for our DAC6 email updates

On 13 January 2020, HMRC laid the UK’s DAC6 legislation before the House of Commons in the form of the International Tax Enforcement (Disclosable Arrangements) Regulations 2020, Statutory Instrument 2020 No. 25. The legislation will come into force on 1 July 2020. Reporting will be required for transactions in which the first step of implementation was carried out on or after 25 June 2018.

Since DAC6 was adopted by ECOFIN on 25 May 2018, VinciWorks has been in close consultation with HMRC and over 50 leading international firms to establish the implications of the EU Directive and build a reporting solution to help firms comply.

In this webinar, we covered the core features of our software and gave guidance on how intermediaries can use it to report transactions.

You can request a recording of the webinar by clicking the button below.

Request a recording

Continue reading

DAC6 implementation – country-by-country guide to compliance

Register for our DAC6 email updates

DAC6 guide to country-by-country implementation

The DAC6 compliance requirements of global businesses vary from country to country. Not all EU member states have yet finalised their guidance and additional details, such as legal professional privilege and penalties vary between each state. To help firms save time and money on conducting their own research, VinciWorks has collaborated with Transfer Pricing Services to create a concise country-by-country guide to DAC6 compliance. The guide can be purchased either together with our DAC6 compliance solution or as a standalone tool.

Preview the guide

Continue reading

VinciWorks updates several courses in light of Brexit

GDPR training screenshot
GDPR: Privacy at Work is one of the seven courses we have updated in light of Brexit

On 31 January 2020, the UK’s membership in the EU ended, and Britain entered a transitional period that will last until 31 December 2020. To prepare for the change, there was a flurry of Brexit-related legislation passed. One central piece of legislation with a wide-ranging impact that changed is GDPR, which has been replaced in UK law with the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The impact of Brexit on each business will depend on its type and the locations in which they collect and process data, but there is sure to be some level of impact for everyone.

On-demand webinar: Is GDPR over? What Brexit means for UK data protection law

A number of our courses required minor amendments following the UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January 2020. Mainly, these changes affected our suite of data protection training, which now includes an opening paragraph making it clear that mentions of GDPR in the course refer to both the EU GDPR rules as well as UK GDPR rules, unless otherwise stated.

Continue reading

Mental health and younger workers: It’s time to prioritise

‘It’s not 1 in 4, it’s all of us.’ 

This is the title of a major joint Accenture and This Can Happen report on supporting the mental health of younger workers. And the results are staggering.

By the time they are 30 years old, 95% of workers in the UK will have been touched by a mental health challenge, either their own or that of someone they know.

Continue reading

EssentialSkillz are taking part in Mindful March

Here at EssentialSkillz, the wellbeing of our teams is paramount.

We are always looking for new opportunities to promote mental health and wellbeing in ways that can help people inside and outside the workplace. So we’re taking part in Mindful March 2020!

Set up by the UK-based charity Action for Happiness, Mindful March is a month-long initiative that aims to boost awareness about the importance of mindfulness and how it can make a positive impact on our day-to-day lives.

Throughout March, participants can take part in a series of daily activities to help them be more mindful and aware of the present moment. Activities are easy to do and can range from dedicating time to something creative to nature spotting and more.

Research indicates that mindfulness in the workplace could be an effective way to target and reduce “high-stress levels, sleep quality, and autonomic balance”

Why not try it for yourself? Download the Action for Happiness Mindful March Calendar and help your workplace be more mindful this month and beyond.

Looking for effective online mental health and wellbeing training? Explore our training library and try any course for free.

Feeling the effects of stress in the workplace? Here are 21 easy tips on how to deal with work-related stress.

Sources

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/m/mindfulness