Hugo González, 60, is passionate about technology. His dream is to be a digital nomad and his age was no barrier to updating himself in pursuit of that goal. After completing his training in data analytics, artificial intelligence and digital productivity, he feels that it is more within his reach.
González was one of the oldest students in the Data Foundations Program of the Coding Bootcamps Espol, from which he graduated last week along with 220 classmates who received scholarships from the Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Society (Mintel), which invested $420,000 in that preparation.
Among the new skills that he learned during eight months are Excel, SQL, Python, Power BI, business intelligence, employability workshops and academic profile development advice in the world of work.
Excited, González explained that being a digital nomad means enjoying nature on continuous vacations, but working. “It is my life goal,” he expressed.
At his age, he had faced challenges finding employment in his area. He studied Systems and worked in companies, where he became a manager in that area, but for ten years it was very difficult for him to be able to find a place in a company again due to his age and he has survived as an independent worker with sporadic jobs.
He confessed that when applying for the program he also thought that his age was going to work against him and they would not accept him.
Now, updated with more tools to help him in the workplace, González no longer sees his age as a barrier, but as an advantage to fulfill his dream, as he assures that he has done his research and his profile is what many companies abroad are looking for: “Almost 95% of these technological activities can be done remotely, I can take services with other countries, for example, with the United States.”
“I was afraid, but now I have tools to fight”
There are also those who came to the program without knowledge of technology, like Jessica Cornejo, 34 years old. “I applied, I was afraid, but I got the opportunity, I started from scratch, I didn’t know anything about technology. It has been complex, but I managed to overcome it,” says the excited mother of two children who changed fear for knowledge and hope.
He doesn’t have a job yet, but he is looking for it. She is convinced that today’s working world needs people with her profile and management skills, since she now has all the tools she learned during the last eight months.
Furthermore, his goal is to continue preparing and apply what he learned in the program in other areas, such as food engineering, which is the career he will study at university. (YO)
