If you’ve ever looked at the thriving IT, compliance and fintech industries and wondered how to enter the sector, then the Letterkenny Institute of Technology is a good place to start.
Post graduate programmes at LYIT have been designed to meet the demands of today’s job market. Courses in governance & compliance, leadership and business systems, among many others, are provided to equip people with the skills they need to seize job opportunities locally and elsewhere.
One such graduate is Emma Lundberg (36) from Ramelton, Co. Donegal.
Emma is in the final months of her one-year Masters in Governance, Compliance & Data Protection in Financial Services.
She wanted a change after 10 years as a people manager in a telco company. Having gained a Business & Marketing degree from LYIT 13 years previously, she knew that she needed to retrain if she wanted a change.
As a result of her upskilling, Emma has been promoted to the role of Compliance Analyst for the same company in their Dublin office.
Emma’s Masters helped her gain practical and transferable skills in IT, risk and audit, privacy, GDPR, fintech and financial regulation to move up the ladder.
Emma Lundberg is a Compliance Analyst after completing an M.A. in Governance, Compliance and Data Protection in Financial Services at LYIT
The degree’s focus on privacy and information security was a key driver for Emma in choosing the MA (Master of Arts).
“Any course with an element of Data Protection would have wide ranging benefits given the reach of new GDPR legislation.”
“The course content was also varied enough to give me an insight into other areas of business that I hadn’t previously had exposure to, like the areas of FinTech, financial services, IT as well as risk and audit.”
With one day of classes per week supplemented with online learning, Emma was able to study at LYIT while keeping up with her full-time job and family life. She found that staff at the college worked to make the experience as manageable as possible for mature learners.
“Studying with a full time job and a family is never easy, however the year flies in so quickly you don’t really have a chance to think about it. The lecturers were great in that they made sure that deadlines for coursework submissions never fell too closely together,” she said.
“LYIT were also really easy to deal with when it came to fee payments, many students availed of the option to spread fee payments over several months instead of having to pay all in one go.”
Letterkenny Institute of Technology
Emma also had the support of her employers as she upskilled. “They were clear that from my personal development perspective I was interested in moving roles,” she said.
The company offered flexibility to Emma so she could switch focus between work and study.
The hard work paid off, as Emma’s MA helped her secure several interviews for compliance roles.
“Ultimately, I was lucky enough to stay with the same company as a new role became available in their information security department. I’ve been in my new role for 2 months now and I would say that the course content covered really prepared me for a compliance role,” she said.
“As someone who had very little technical experience before completing this MA, and even less regulatory experience, the skills learning have meant that I have been able to work successfully in an information security role.
“I would also say that the skills learned on this course are very transferable, while the course has a strong fintech element, as many of our local employers are fintech organisations, I have been able to remain working in the telco industry and the course content has been just as relevant for me.”
For Emma, this MA is only the start. In the absence of experience, she was able to show her employers that she has a good understanding of the current regulatory environment, industry standards and frameworks.
Now, she has set her sights on progressing even further into this field. She said: “I think my decision to retrain has already opened the door to new opportunities, this is just the start! I am already planning to complete some certifications and I’d love to retrain further in the area of cyber security. All in good time!”
LYIT is currently recruiting for the next intake of this MA and there are still some available places. The course begins at the end of September 2019, find out more at lyit.ie
Learn more about this M.A in Governance, Compliance and Data Protection in Financial Services programme by signing up for a free webinar which is scheduled for 28th August 2019 at 7pm:
Click here to register for the free webinar
For queries and more information, contact Siobhan Cullen, Head of Department Law & Humanities, by email Siobhan.cullen@lyit.ie or tel 074918620
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