Keynotes and Speakers for ITx 2018
Tekron
Amanda Santos is a new breed of CEO and a highly regarded speaker and facilitator.
Amanda is an energetic and highly entertaining speaker and facilitator. She has worked with over 130 businesses large and small as well as being a busy high-growth CEO.
She has more energy than most, working long hours to provide mentoring to others leaving the audience motivated and inspired.
My name is Amanda and I am one of the few female CEO's in the NZ Tech sector.
Before you switch off thinking this is yet another lecture about equality, the subject I want to raise is the lack of opportunities our sector provides to students. There are simply not enough chances for students to grow their skills in our local companies and develop a career in NZ.
I often hear people in our industry talk about skill shortages and the need to recruit out of the country to find talent. Yet every year hundreds of hugely talented people graduate or study at our tertiary institutions.
Some companies like ours, offer summer internships and benefit from an infusion of amazing talent and fresh perspectives during these limited engagements. However, there are not enough technology companies participating and I would like to challenge you to consider why you are missing out on this valuable opportunity.
Yes, it means mentoring and investing internal resources to partner with the students. And yes they are young and require a bit of hand-holding, however, the benefits to your company will by far outweigh these issues. Believe me, the talent is amazing and the contribution that these young people will make to your team and the work they perform, will both surprise and amaze you.
I also have used this as a way to get more women into the company and we have had to be very deliberate to find women and we are not the only ones doing so.
As Chair of the Board of Trustees of Summer of Tech an internship programme for Tech Graduates, I am also able to see the great work companies are doing at hiring graduates at a decent wage.