Titan FX Interns: Meet the next generation of knowledge workers

January 25, 2024 4:07 am | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

Titan FX, the largest employer in Vanuatu’s budding financial technology sector, is training the next generation of homegrown knowledge workers by offering one- to six-month internships for high school and university students. Meet their summer interns:

Antonia Bule, from Pentecost and Lelepa Islands, is a second-year student at the University of South Pacific. She was hired to join the business intelligence team for three months, but she liked the experience so much, she signed up for another four months.

“I’ve been writing benchmarking reports, which are analytical tools to evaluate Titan FX’s position relative to its best-performing competitors. Writing them is helping me to fine-tune my research abilities and develop fresh skills in data analysis,” Bule said.

A dual French and Ni-Van citizen, Letitia Nicholls joined the finance team in November to capitalise on the break between her first-year studies at the University of New Caledonia and her plans to pursue higher education in France.

“I heard that Titan FX was a very modern company in Port Vila, but I had no idea what they did. I started working with them in accounts reconciliation and I find the business very exciting,” she said.

Frank Karae, from Ambae and the Solomon Islands, studies software engineering at Macquarie University in Sydney. He was looking for a workplace experience in a “hard-working, driven IT environment” and he found that at Titan FX.

“I’m learning all I can from the senior developers by replicating the types of applications and systems they use.

“I’ve been honing my skills in new languages, like PHP and Python, and connecting databases to different programs,” he said.

Teoni Griffin is pursuing a co-cultural education to reflect her French and English roots. She just left Lycée Français Le Clézio to start Year 11 at Port Vila International School. This is her second internship with the Titan FX IT team.

“I wanted to get some work experience during my school break, so I applied a second time to learn more about programming and coding. Another intern and I were tasked to build a website from scratch and we’re right in the thick of it,” she said.

Audrey Marango, a soon-to-be Year 12 student at Malapoa College from Tongoa and Ifira islands, sees her internship as an opportunity to learn more about accounting by helping to issue invoices and communicating with suppliers.

“I want to get more training, get a Bachelor’s degree of Finance later on… and to make my parents proud,” she beamed.

Not as scary as expected

During their tenure at Titan FX, the five interns have all experienced a supportive, collaborative and open-minded environment, working with patient colleagues who have taken the time and effort to show them the ropes. For some, this kindness was a pleasant surprise.

“I can’t believe how much help I’ve been offered during my time here,” noted Karae. “It’s reassuring that there are people here to help and teach whenever I get stuck or when I’m afraid to ask for help. It’s a lot different than I expected. I imagined office work as a scary environment where everyone is constantly reminding you about your shortcomings as an intern!”

“I thought I’d be left alone to struggle on my own. Instead, I walked into a very supportive environment,” Bule shared. “I don’t feel judged and help is always available.

“Titan FX has showed me how the right workplace should feel and how relationships between colleagues should be.”

Nicholls said that Titan FX is just like a family. “Everyone helps each other so we can all progress together. I wasn’t expecting that.” Same for Marango: she “didn’t think that the team would be so friendly”.

Igniting new vocations

While Titan FX interns don’t necessarily plan to work in financial technology, the experience has given them complementary knowledge that will come in handy, no matter where their pursuits take them.

Bule has always been interested in business and marketing but as a science student she didn’t take relevant courses. At Titan FX, she is gaining real-life experience in these areas, “broadening her view” about the types of careers she might pursue.

Nicholls’ internship has strengthened her conviction to pursue finance as a field of study next year.

Griffin has found an unexpected calling in computer programming. “I didn’t like it in school, but now I find that nothing beats actual experience to learn about a field of knowledge!”

Karae is more convinced than ever that his destiny is to be a builder: “I want to create products that benefit ‘yumi ol man Vanuatu’ and help others get into the field of information technology.”