Through our Lifehack program, we help refugees and immigrants become a part of our society. Our goal is to assist people in starting their new lives in Norway, contribute to greater diversity in Omega 365, and pave the way for recruiting more developers. Here, you can read more about becoming a Lifehacker and hiring a Lifehacker.
The Lifehack project is a collaboration between Omega 365 and the Integration Office of the Municipality of Stjørdal, providing participants with training in basic programming skills. The programming course is held at Stjørdal Adult Education Center (Stjørdal voksenopplæringssenter), located next to Ole Vig High School. The course is aimed at refugees and immigrants who are participating in mandatory Norwegian language and culture courses.
For us at Omega 365, there are two particularly important motivational factors: Omega 365 needs more developers, and we want to be a company that makes a difference in people's lives. Through this initiative, we can help people get a fresh start. The video below offers a brief insight into the Lifehack program. Three of the people you meet in the video are already interning with us.
Are you a refugee or immigrant currently living in Norway? Can you see yourself becoming an IT developer? Perhaps you already possess some relevant skills? We don’t require prior programming skills to participate in the Lifehack program, but we do believe that motivation and certain logical skills will be necessary to succeed. The image below illustrates an example of what the Lifehack program can be like for you.
We don’t believe that everyone can become a developer or thrive in that role, and it’s tough to make that decision early on. To assess your motivation and logic skills, we will include some brief tests in your application. Even if you don’t feel successful, it does not mean you can’t become one of the participants. We will make that assessment. In short, we will ask you to set up a GitHub.com account and design a basic webpage. We will provide direct links where you can obtain help, and you are free to search the entire Internet for guidance.
When you join the program, you will meet twice a week for six months at Ole Vig High School. A senior developer, who speaks English, Arabic, Kurdish, Russian, Ukrainian, and Norwegian, will guide your training alongside one or more of their colleagues, as you start to learn basic programming, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and SQL.
After six months of training, there will be an evaluation of your skills, and you may have the opportunity to participate in another six month's internship in Omega 365. This could include working internally or with one of our clients. Does that sound intriguing?
Once the Lifehacker completes their six-month training, some of them will be prepared for internships. If you are interested, you can hire one or more at a set price for an agreed-upon period of time. We hope this will be a mutually enjoyable experience for both you and the participant. If you wish to employ a Lifehacker beyond the agreed duration, we are delighted to make the arrangements. By hiring a Lifehacker, you contribute to our ongoing effort to educate even more Lifehackers in the future.
Four employees at Omega 365 Solutions in Stjørdal, Norway share their experiences of adapting to life in Norway. Whether through self-taught skills or formal initiatives like the Lifehack program, their experiences showcase the varied challenges and triumphs of starting afresh in a new country.
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In November 2022, 23 participants were ready to program their new lives via Lifehack, a programming course aimed at refugees and immigrants. See a video update from the course here!
Omega 365 needs developers and strives to harbor a diverse workplace. In the Stjørdal office in Norway, refugees are enrolled in a six-month Omega 365 programming course called Lifehack.
