Over the last few years, particularly in the pandemic, we have witnessed a significant increase in tech jobs and personnel. Many people have curated videos or articles about switching to tech and income growth. Tech is redefining jobs in different sectors, and to not be left behind, many people are learning various skills in the tech industry. Also, it is becoming more common to hear of people who live in Nigeria and work remotely for foreign tech companies. But more interestingly, as a techie, some opportunities allow you to use your experience and skills to land a job overseas and relocate.

eMigr8, an initiative of Bincom Dev Center, builds globally attractive talents through information sessions, coaching, preliminary assessment, road maps, and general guidance towards the upskilling and relocation process. As part of this, Open-day events are held periodically to help enlighten people on ways their skills and experience in tech can help them change their country of residence and work abroad. During these events, experts are invited to speak to the participants on grooming themselves for tech jobs and relocation opportunities.

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In January, an open-day session tagged “Seven steps to an endorsement – UK Global Talent (Tech Nation) Visa” was held. Tech entrepreneur, Bade Adesemowo, kicked off the event by welcoming guests, summarising the previous editions and what to expect from the session. He talked about the eMigr8 platform and related services including Bincom mentoring platform, Bincom headhunter service, and Labs by Bincom, for individuals starting out in tech, those seeking employment in the industry or to switch jobs, and build startups.

Francisca Chiedu, the Program Director of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Technology Hackathon was endorsed as an exceptional talent by TechNation in January 2021 and moved to the UK in 2021. To begin her session, she spoke briefly about the two stages of the global talent program, which is the assessment stage and the application stage.

During the assessment stage, you follow a guideline to provide different documents (up to ten) based on your experience and skills for either exceptional talent or exceptional promise. You would be required to submit a one-thousand-word personal statement, CV, three (3) recommendation letters from people in tech who can be easily verified, and up to ten (10) pieces of evidence.

These pieces of evidence could include pictures/videos of speaking at known tech conferences, receipts of recognized awards, your contribution to the tech community and leadership demonstration within the community.

In applying for this endorsement, you’d also be required to fulfil some mandatory or optional criteria, depending on what you are applying for. Under the mandatory aspect, the endorsement body requires proof of how you have demonstrated leadership skills in the industry or your environment. And similarly, on the other side, they want to know how you have contributed to the tech community’s growth or made an impact. It could include a podcast, an editorial column, a YouTube channel, or something related.

Francisca mentioned that the Tech Nation visa targets two sets of people: those who worked as tech specialists or business people in tech startups/firms. For the first set, you’d be required to tender a letter of recommendation from your boss and a sales/revenue report for the latter set.

She encouraged people to be genuine in their applications as all of the information will be vetted. It is possible and indeed common for people’s applications to not be endorsed. It could be because of generic or copied reference letters or pieces of evidence that could not be verified. Francisca warned the audience to steer clear of templates as copying them could lead to non-endorsement.

The good thing about the endorsement process is that you would always get feedback, even if your application was not endorsed. In that case, Francisca advised people to critically go through the feedback and appeal if they think that there was a misunderstanding or ambiguity somewhere. If you are able to prove your point, the panel will go over your application and appeal and endorse it if appropriately convinced. And if it doesn’t go through, you can always re-apply. It costs about four hundred and fifty pounds to apply for the endorsement.

To answer the audience’s questions, Francisca shed some light on personal statements. Your personal statement should talk convincingly about why you want to migrate. If you cannot answer your ‘why’ correctly in a personal statement, then you should ask yourself again if the Tech Nation visa is truly for you.

She also encouraged people who are planning to switch from another field to tech to choose a skill that’s suitable for them, learn, volunteer, and contribute to the industry. She advised people to get support from mentors and community members, although making sure not to abuse the opportunity.

Bade wrapped up the event by elucidating the seven steps to endorsement:
Be globally attractive.
Be informed: seek genuine information and learn.
Read the visa guide.
Plan: know who your recommenders are and what evidence to present.
Contribute to your home tech ecosystem; be visible.
Build a personal brand and package yourself well.
Submit an excellent application.

He told the audience about other services that Bincom Dev Center offers, including the Bincom Global Tech Programme that allows you to learn your desired skill without upfront payment and pay later based on the initial agreement. The next edition of this open-day event will focus on Australia and promises to be an informative and enlightening one as well.