bloom: Sylvia Maeckelberghe
Change of food makes ... grow: Sylvia Maeckelberghe followed the call of her interests
The world of technology is known for its dynamism and constant evolution. But what if your path does not lead directly from a technical background to a tech career? The story of Sylvia Maeckelberghe, Quality Assurance manager at Telenet, offers an inspiring insight into how passion, eagerness to learn and flexibility led to a blossoming career. 🦺 🖥️ 💪🏽
From teacher training to tech
That Sylvia would end up in tech wasn't entirely written in the stars. "In high school, I was hugely fascinated by computer science, but also by accounting," she quips. "That numeracy of math triggered me. I wanted to translate things practically. For example, I also filled out the tax returns of family and friends who wanted to," she laughs. "I wanted to do something with that passion, but anything but a 'boring' accounting job." So Sylvia made a perhaps somewhat unexpected switch to teaching. "I wanted to teach in those subjects like computer science, accounting and economics." Though she never ended up teaching. Her internship led her down a different, albeit similar path.
"After my internship, I was in adult education, including for companies. And that's how I got into teaching software packages for companies," she reflects. "I'm talking about twenty years ago now, but for example, I taught a director who needed his assistant to understand why certain things on the computer had to be done this way." The ball got rolling. "Then I helped develop websites and gave training on them. I started getting into IT and eventually got an additional IT degree at Group T."
"So when I did my first job as a consultant, I only worked with men. That always went very nicely. Things were said where they stood. That direct communication style suits me." old girlfriends didn't think that was cool, no, but that didn't stop me."
"A strong evolution has already happened if you look at the number of women in tech fields," Sylvia says of her experience as a woman in an IT field. "Back then there were a lot more men than women. So when I did my first job as a consultant, I only worked with men. That always went very nicely. Things were said where they stood. That direct communication style suits me."
15 years of growth and change
Meanwhile, Sylvia has been working for Telenet for 15 years. That, too, crossed her path earlier by chance. "Another consultant in the consulting company I was working for at the time had an activity at Telenet and told me about their vacancies. I was a little hesitant at first because I was comfortable where I was. He asked me if I would grow enough in that consultant role and have enough opportunities. That triggered me to go for an interview anyway," he echoed.
The consultant turned out to be right. Sylvia has been working at Telenet for 15 years now and has gone through several positions and growth paths. For example, she started in the BI team as a SPOC analyst and eventually grew to Team Manager of a team that expanded from 12 to 50 people. "That's when I started thinking. BI came at the end of the chain: we had to build reports and feed data based on what had already happened in the Telenet projects. Whereas I wanted to play more of a front-end role. So I changed to Business Relationship Manager, where I was allowed to test the feasibility of initiatives and help shape roadmaps from an IT pointof view... I did that from 2016 to 2020." She later moved up to Lead Center of Expertise Architecture before putting on the hat of Quality Assurance manager in 2023.
"Change may not be for everyone, but it always gives me extra energy."
Sylvia's track record proves that she loves change. So is that why she stayed with Telenet? "I always enjoyed myself and always got or took the challenges to grow. I also never hid the fact that I didn't want to stay in the same chair for 10 years," she replies. "Telenet is a very dynamic company. You get the chance to change. Change may not be for everyone, but it always gives me extra energy. Just like the social aspect: getting people on board, forming a team, going for it together and making a difference, ... that's hugely important to me."
Social commitment as a driver
That social aspect is something Sylvia also looks for outside Telenet. Until September 2023, she was active in Jong Voka. "That was another opportunity I seized," she laughs. "In a coaching program I received here at Telenet, I did an exercise to discover my strengths in order to learn what I get the most energy from in my job and where I wanted to grow. It showed that I get the most energy from bringing a story to people, engaging them and getting them moving."
"On the advice of my coach, I talked about those strengths with people around me. Because you never knew what could come out of it," the QA manager continues. "And indeed: my best friend's husband was on the board of Jong Voka Mechelen and they were looking for someone else there. For four years I threw myself into my spare time for that."
Since leaving Jong Voka, Sylvia's free time looks a little different. Although it is still filled with social contacts and engagement. "Since corona, I also regularly go hiking with a group of girlfriends. We weren't allowed to do anything else back then," she chuckles. "We often do walks of 14 kilometers or more. In addition, I try to run twice a week."
The impact of resilience
Whether Sylvia is proud of certain milestones or successes? "I don't dwell on that enough," she says. "Sometimes your career turns out completely differently than you had envisioned. And then I think every person is allowed to take a moment to reflect on how he or she accomplished successes. Were you able to do that yourself? Or do you have good people around you to thank, who believed in you and helped you move forward?"
"I think every person is allowed to take a moment to reflect on how he or she accomplished successes. Were you able to do that yourself? Or do you have good people around you to thank, who believed in you and helped you move forward?"
On a much more personal level, Sylvia is proud of her resilience. "In 2016, I lost my 3.5-year-old daughter," she confides. "I didn't let my head hang. Two weeks later, I went back to work little by little. That event made me much more positive in life and made me much more committed. Seize the day, I have believed in that ever since. 'There are worse things in life' I sometimes dare to say when people grumble again. Which doesn't mean I never have a bad moment, of course."
Future Prospect
"I don't know where I will be in two to three years," Sylvia replies when we ask her about her future plans. "What's important to me is that I get to do the job my way so that it energizes me. And above all: that I make an impact with it. That you don't just do it, but that you get the organization involved, that people believe in it and that you see the difference at the end of the day."
"What's important to me is that I get to do the job my way so that it energizes me. And above all: that I make an impact with it."
"I want to create improvement, measurable or tangible. In my current role, we want to improve quality, which is measurable. Putting together a new team and finding out a year later that it has worked, on the other hand, that is tangible. Just like my activities at Jong Voka: you bring people together and get energy from seeing them step outside with a new insight or a new contact."
To close, we ask her about a tip for women considering getting into tech without too much of a technical background. "Be aware that the tech world is so much more than a job behind a computer where you have to write code. There are so many variations in roles and functions. Although a foundation is obviously helpful: it makes it easier to get a team on board with your story."
"Be aware that the tech world is so much more than a job behind a computer where you have to write code."
"Also learn about newer technologies that are now being talked about every day. ChatGPT, for example, there's a whole technology behind that. Immerse yourself in that. And know that there are different roles where you come into contact with that and can do something with it, without effectively filling the technical role," she concludes.
Do you also want a job that energizes you while making an impact? Get started now! Find out which great new colleagues they are still looking for at Telenet! Check here!
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