Trainee: “My Training at BSP Boosted my Confidence”

Christine, 21, is a year 2 Information Technology Student of Don Bosco Technological Institute in Port Moresby. She was one of the 10 students engaged by BSP IT Department during 2019 Christmas school holidays recently to do her practical.

"Before my training, I lacked confidence and knowledge in a working environment. I was nervous of coming into a big bank with no knowledge or experience at all in finance, as I thought the banking industry is all about dealing with money. I was troubled and uneasy on my first day, thinking what could possibly happen, and when and where could I apply the little but basic knowledge of Information Technology I was taught at school in a banking environment," said Christine when asked about her experience.

"I would say, I cherished my 8 weeks training with BSP, though it was my first and short skills practice, I was surprisingly motivated by the culture and working environment," Christine said.

Though I learnt a lot of basic trouble shooting methods in school, I was uneasy and eager to ask questions to the officer in charge to know more about the systems and procedures of the bank. The banks End User Service (EUS) Tech team were also very helpful, they coached and mentored me proficiently.

"I remembered whilst here, I was assigned to do a PC set up for a staff without supervision. I was worried and was thinking too hard about what the staff would say if I did something wrong. I then said to myself, I can do this. I plugged my courage and gathered necessities required for the setup and took the elevator to the second floor of the building. I walked to the staff and excused her out of her office desk and began work. After 20 minutes, I was done and ran a test for the setup. Oh Well! I received positive feedback from the staff and was overwhelmed," said Christine with a smile.

Christine Sowi (trainee) setting up a Desktop computer of one of the staff.

"I can now clearly see how BSP IT department plays a vital role in the Organisation. I believe the banking system depends significantly on the department's functionality. For instance, if the telling system goes down, it affects the banking services entirely, thus the customers are affected the most. The IT role in the bank is very vital as it controls the accessibility of data in the banking system. I have also noted the support given to the local Branches and throughout Pacific markets are entirely dependent upon the work done here at the Waigani Head Office. There are combination of different fields who are actually working together to build this recognised banking brand," she added.

BSP allowed me to get a great experience of what it is like in the world of work. My training at BSP Waigani Head Office (WHO) in the IT Department helped me develop my confidence, built my courage and got me to be time conscious, working with speed and accuracy, getting on with different people as well as handling responsibilities efficiently.

Personally, I would really want to come back and join the BSP IT department after my studies.