S&E Guarantee Pilot: Velislav Tsenov

Velislav Tsenov, from Vratsa, graduated with a degree in IT and business administration from the American University in Bulgaria. “I’ve always been keen on programming and at undergrad, I wanted to do computer science, but there was a lot of misalignment, so I dropped it and focussed instead on business management.”

IT COME HOME

That interest in IT never left him, however, and soon made a come-back. “In my first job, I always had to do techie things, so I had it in mind, but I never dedicated myself to IT professionally. I knew I wanted to move into this space and when this course popped up on my Facebook feed, I thought ‘this is a sign’.” ‘This course’ was a software engineering course offered at Telerik Academy, including a deferred tuition payment plan, guaranteed in part by the EU, that allows students to focus on their 6-month programming bootcamp and worry about repayment only 6 months after graduation. With a professional qualification as junior software developer, Velislav got a job within the Academy’s partner network, working on front-end engineering and setting up websites. “I actually had four offers, took one, and still work here.”

IMPROVED EMPLOYABILITY & CONSTANT LEARNING

Looking back, he’s confident that he made the right choice in re-directing himself towards software engineering: “It definitely affected my employability. That was one of my main motives in the first place. I realised I was good at it and am now basically very versatile.” In a changing, digitalising economy, this is a skillset that is increasingly sought after. “IT skills are the future, but you need to keep on learning,” he says. “There are new things coming out every day, so you need to stay on top of your game, or you drown. The Academy provides just enough theory, and from there you need to find information yourself, and use it to practice. It’s a very practical approach, which I think is a very good way of learning.”

BENEFICIAL FINANCING

The financial offer was also very attractive in providing a safety cushion and very favourable terms: “After two months, if you are not doing well, you can still quit, no payment required, which is amazing. It’s a win-win for both parties: the Academy gets good graduates and delivers good graduates to its partner companies, and the students can try and even quit without financial cost.”

At 25, Velislav is now focussing on personal professional development, gathering experience in this field, building his CV. “Continued learning is key. I will probably go back to Telerik at some point, looking at another course, upskilling...”

Location: Sofia, Bulgaria

Financial Intermediary: Telerik Academy

Beneficiary: Velislav Tsenov

Studies: software engineering

Institution: Telerik Academy

EIF financing: Skills & Education Guarantee Pilot

For further information about EIF intermediaries in Bulgaria, please refer to: http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/bgs