IT and software
The number of companies in London which work in software and IT products is growing. Many small and medium sized businesses like the popular chat software Skype have located in London.
But in the world of software, there is one company that dominates; Microsoft. Its operating system (the software programme that runs a computer) is on 90% of the world’s computers, and is what most of these smaller companies design their products for.
There are few companies and organisations in London – in every industry – that do not use a Microsoft product in some part of their business.
Westminster Kingsway College and Microsoft
Experience and skills with Microsoft software are available at many London colleges. One college, Westminster Kingsway, have worked with the company to design courses and earned status as a Microsoft IT Regional Academy.
They offer programming courses and professional development courses leading to recognised qualifications demonstrating a high level of understanding of Microsoft products. These can lead to careers in Business IT, networking, hardware or software development or support.
They also offer courses for school leavers looking to start a career in computing or IT. These include BTEC national diplomas, GCE A-levels, leading to employment or further and higher education via the Foundation Degree they offer in Business Information Technology.
The college is a registered CISCO Regional Academy. CISCO is another large IT firm whose technology provides the backbone to the Internet.
Working for Microsoft
Microsoft themselves have a large presence in and around London. Their UK headquarters at Thames Valley Park, Reading (west of London) is growing so fast that they have had to build two new buildings to house their employees. It has its own shops, fitness centre, four cafes and a putting green!
They have opportunities for many careers in their different divisions of consulting, finance and administration, human resources, marketing and sales as well as technical.
Microsoft current vacancies
Microsoft lists all its current UK vacancies on their website. They also have more information about what’s involved working in different areas of their business.
Microsoft also has an office in central London where people work on the Xbox computer games console and the MSN websites.
It also has a research and development laboratory at Cambridge, partly run with Cambridge University, where employees with high level science, technology, engineering and maths skills work on new inventions and the next generation of technologies.
Careers with Microsoft
Microsoft also has an office in central London where people work on the Xbox computer games console
Microsoft has an office in central London where people work on the MSN websites.
Microsoft have a large careers site, including links to possible career paths, vacancies and FAQs.
