Work Experience at Aflac NI
On 22nd June, we welcomed nineteen students from across Northern Ireland to our Belfast office for a three‑day, fully immersive work‑experience programme - an initiative designed, built, and delivered by teams across our business. As Head of Operations & ESG, I had the privilege of coordinating this programme from concept to delivery.
Work‑experience opportunities in the tech sector are still limited, and those that do exist tend to focus narrowly on software engineering. Our goal was different: we wanted to show young people that regardless of their background, school, or prior exposure to technology, there is a place for them in this industry. This was also an opportunity to advance our ESG commitments, particularly our support for UN SDG 4: Quality Education, which calls for “inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all”.
The Department for the Economy’s guidance on work‑related learning emphasises that meaningful experiences “increase learners’ motivation, develop their employability skills and give relevance to their learning programme”. We took this to heart and designed a programme that showcased the breadth of roles in a modern tech organisation, from User experience to Quality Assurance, cybersecurity, product thinking, and software engineering. Each session was carefully curated to build confidence, communication, teamwork, and problem‑solving skills and to connect students with real practitioners, real tools, and real challenges.
Over three days, our office became a learning campus, buzzing with curiosity, collaboration, and the occasional burst of competitive energy! On the first day, students explored the world of UX design through hands‑on activities, including the “Worst App Ever” challenge and persona‑driven user‑story creation. They experimented with Magic Patterns, learning how AI can support, but not replace, human creativity and design judgement. On day 2, we focused on agile, Quality Assurance & Cybersecurity. From building “flow‑metric burgers” with our Scrum Masters to hunting bugs with our QA engineers, students saw how quality, iteration, and teamwork shape real software delivery. Our cybersecurity team rounded out the day with an engaging session on phishing and social engineering. Day 3 involved software engineering where students installed and tested a prototype app, identified defects, and used AI tools to help fix issues, reinforcing the importance of human oversight in an AI‑enabled world.
The programme culminated in a team‑based engineering challenge where students designed, built, and presented a new feature for the app. Their presentations, complete with user stories, test plans, and live demos, were a testament to how much they had learned in just 3 short days. From day 1 when we could have heard a pin drop, to day 3 when every single student spoke to the full room about the feature they had worked on, the change in confidence and eagerness to fully participate was wonderful to see.
For our teams, the experience was equally rewarding. More than 20 colleagues contributed through presenting, mentoring, facilitating exercises, or simply being present to support the students. It was a powerful example of the talent, generosity, and community spirit within our organisation.
This initiative was designed to be repeatable, scalable, and deeply rooted in our local community. We engaged with schools across Northern Ireland, partnered with Futures for All to manage applications, and ensured the programme aligned with best‑practice guidance for work‑related learning. Most importantly, we created an environment where every student felt welcome, supported, and inspired. The results from our feedback survey support this with students rating our programme 4.7 out of 5! One student told us: 'All the skills which were taught gave a really good insight to the actual work and made the decision of choosing a career way clearer'
That is exactly why we built this programme. Northern Ireland’s tech sector is thriving, and the next generation deserves clear pathways into it. By opening our doors, sharing our expertise, and investing in young people, we are helping to build a more inclusive, skilled, and confident future workforce. I am incredibly proud of this work and thankful to the students who joined us with energy and ideas; to the colleagues who delivered this programme for making it exceptional and the schools, teachers, and families who supported us in making this happen.
Written by; Antoinette Bradley, Head of Operations & ESG