SA company offers young software engineers global work experience

Irshaad Samaai, Dylan Luis and Bruce Zaayman.

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Thanks to Inspired Testing, two talented Cape Town-based performance test engineers are currently completing a fantastic two-month stint in the UK, working for a top-notch corporate client in the capital city, London.

Dylan Luis and Irshaad Samaai are qualified software testers, who joined the global software testing company more than five years ago. After successfully completing Inspired Testing’s automation and testing internship programme, they both went on to enhance their skillset even further by specialising in non-functional performance testing and have become an integral part of the Specialised Services department.

“When I joined the internship programme, I had very little IT experience, but I was eager to learn and I have no regrets. One of the best things about working as an engineer for Inspired Testing is the endless opportunities you get to work remotely on multiple clients across the world, right here from our offices in South Africa. However, nothing matches the experience of getting to work for the client, in their office and in their country,” says Luis.

The two engineers also have an expert certification in Tricentis’ NeoLoad Tool, which is highly desirable among their burgeoning client portfolio, and one of the main reasons why this client insisted that they join them onsite at their London offices.

“Since arriving in the UK, we have been working hard to help the client with their workload. There are some understandable differences between a UK-based client and one based in South Africa. For one, they are often more mature and structured in their testing practices and use additional process, which requires greater specialist knowledge from engineers, like me. I am honoured to be able to utilise my additional technical know-how to add considerable value for this client and I really don’t think you can get this type of skills exposure while working for the same client remotely in South Africa,” he adds.

The move was by no means easy, requiring plenty of planning and huge administration hurdles, but according to Samaai, it has been nothing short of brilliant and totally worth it.

“Getting to live and work in the UK has been an amazing experience. This is my first time travelling abroad and to the UK, and I am so impressed by the excellent transport links and the relative safety when moving around. It took some time for me to get used to the London Underground, but now I am almost like a local and have even travelled as far as Scotland to do a little sightseeing,” says Samaai. 

When asked whether they would recommend this opportunity to others, both engineers have a resounding yes.

“I would highly recommend others to take up similar opportunities that may arise in the future. Not only is it terrific exposure from a career perspective, but it is also a great eye opener on how efficiently a first-world country operates,” adds Samaai.

It is a sentiment echoed by Andre Barnard, Chief People and Culture Officer at Inspired Testing, who adds: “At Inspired Testing, we pride ourselves in making way for exceptional talent and potential. We want to see our engineers and testers achieve great things, and they can only really do this if they are adaptable, unafraid and determined to challenge the status quo. We greatly value people who possess innovative thinking, an inquisitive mind and constant hunger to learn and upskill as this means our clients are serviced by the most competent testing talents in our country. Irshaad and Dylan's fantastic break came because they were committed to going the extra mile for themselves and their clients. I do hope we see more testers like them gear up to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Luis and Samaai both work under the guidance of Bruce Zaayman, Director of Specialised Services, who has been instrumental in fostering strong partnerships with industry clients across a variety of industries, including retail, legal, banking, insurance, big pharma and mining.

“It is great to see clients requesting test professionals to work on site, rather than remotely from our offices. The experience Dylan and Irshaad have received is unrivalled and one of the best ways for any of our engineers to not only gain exposure within a business environment, but to also help fuel a desire for them to become better at what they do,” concludes Zaayman.