Is real-life work experience a thing of the past?

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This week we’re quoting Yussouf Ntwali (Co-Founder of BAG Innovation)

What Ntwali said:

“Our inspiration came from the desire to bridge this divide by creating an innovative, virtual job simulation platform that would prepare students for the workforce while still in university.” 

We know – you need a bit of context here

Ntwali was explaining how he and his co-founder, Gabriel Ekman, came up with their startup idea: a digital platform that offers work experience from anywhere. It bridges the gap between education and employment by equipping students with professional skills experience – without requiring them to actually set foot in a physical workplace. 

And it got the LEAP team talking about the trials and tribulations of our own early work experience while we were at school – with stories including:

• Turning up at an office full of adults with absolutely no idea how to be useful and spending a whole week making coffee and refilling the printer.
• Being sent for work experience at a dairy farm (even though the student in question had ambitions to work in tech, not…dairy).
• Working in a small-town ice cream parlour for two weeks and eating more ice cream than anyone should in a lifetime. 

Simulated work experience offers a more targeted, relevant approach

We know that all work experience is valuable in some way, even if it’s not directly related to a student’s career goals. There are always lessons to be learnt, and feeling confused and out of place (then figuring out how to be useful) can build resilience and problem-solving skills. 

But simulated work experience offers more variety in opportunities – and allows students to access experiences that are closely connected to their personal goals. Virtual programs could be particularly valuable for students interested in tech careers, with learning opportunities difficult to access outside of major city hubs. 

A growing number of platforms offer simulated work experience opportunities for students in a range of different sectors and skill sets, including (but not limited to):

• Tech (of course). Examples include the Data@ANZ virtual internship program that covers exploratory data analysis and predictive analysis, and offers access to further digital opportunities (such as hackathons). And the Cyber@ANZ program that’s specifically geared towards students interested in working in cybersecurity.
• Banking. Financial institutions increasingly offer virtual work experience opportunities – like the LifeSkills program from Barclays, which simulates a day of work at a digital transformation agency.
• Business and economics. PwC offers a virtual case experience for students studying economics, business, maths, IT, or life sciences – which enables participants to engage with an audit case and gain insights into strategic planning, financial statements, and more.
• Engineering. JP Morgan Chase offers virtual internships in Software Engineering with no application process at all – any student can register to take part. The internships are self-paced, allowing participants to explore the experience of working as a software engineer. And Goldman Sachs also offers a two-hour virtual engineering program that gives students a fast-paced experience of results analysis and policy change proposals. 

But can students gain the interpersonal skills needed for collaboration and networking? 

In short: probably not. Or at least, not yet. 

Being successful at work isn’t just about technical skills, or measurable experience. It’s also about the more subtle stuff: the ability to adapt to working with different teams, the confidence to make your voice heard in a crowded room, and an awareness of how the different parts and people involved in a process come together to drive results. 

So at this moment in time, simulated work experience can’t totally replace in-person experience. But it’s a valuable complementary opportunity that can boost confidence and skills in specific areas – helping to create new generations of students who have all the foundations in place to begin building their careers. 

So do we think aspiring tech professionals should engage with simulated work experience? 

Yes, absolutely. 

And do we think it’s a waste of time for an aspiring techie to do work experience on a farm or in their local ice cream shop? 

Nope. Because you’ll learn something valuable there, too. 

We love connecting tech students and tech educators at LEAP. Join us in Riyadh for the 2025 edition. 

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Catch you next week,

Richard McKeon

Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Tahaluf

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