Changing jobs within the same company: so many possibilities at Alithya!

My name is Manuel Palacio. I arrived in Canada in October 2013 after studying computer engineering at the Catholic University of Pereira. I’ve loved computers and everything to do with them since I was a kid. As I grew older, I decided that I wanted to work in the booming technology industry. But doing what? I was interested in many things, so it was difficult for me to choose a single career path.  

But at Alithya, you're encouraged to pursue your professional development within the company itself, which is perfect for me! I then decided to follow that path so my career could continue to evolve. I'll describe a bit more about what motivates me to take on new challenges. 

Collège Bois-de-Boulogne: The start of my journey in Québec 

After I finished my B.Eng. in 2010, I began working as a quality assurance analyst and functional analyst. This lasted until 2013, when I decided to move to Québec.  

To update my skills and facilitate my integration into my place of work, I enrolled for an Attestation of College Studies (ACS) in programming and analysis at Collège de Bois-de-Boulogne. I really loved that school. The instruction was excellent, and every student had a job after graduation.  

Alithya also works closely with the Collège. The company helped design the Alithya Innovation Laboratory, a place where students and employers gather in the same collaborative space to come up with new ideas and meet technological challenges.  

My academic journey at Bois-de-Boulogne lasted one year. I learnt the different lifecycles of software, knowledge that served me well when it came time to move forward with my career. 

From quality assurance analyst to Product Owner 

I started my career here in Sherbrooke, where I worked as a quality assurance analyst and developer. I took the time to get settled in my new country and explore its culture before moving to Montréal, a city where I had always wanted to live. It was a job at Alithya that led me there. In 2017, I became a quality assurance analyst at Alithya, working on a project for a financial institution. I loved the company from the start and enjoyed both my colleagues and daily tasks very much.  

I have been a product owner (PO) since May 2022. I am currently working on my first project as PO. And all I can say is that I love it! It’s a new challenge with a new team and more responsibility, but it is where I want to be with my career. Growing as a member of the Alithya family has led me to gain the support of my peers and allows me to draw on the knowledge of my more experienced colleagues.  

My career transition  

Since I appreciated Alithya’s values and working environment, as well as the fact it encouraged its employees to pursue their careers in-house, I jumped at the opportunity to take up a new professional challenge. 

Making such a huge career shift within the same company meant I was able to retain the sense of belonging I had here. I am familiar with the business and its operations, I get to keep my established routine, etc. Most importantly, I enjoy my colleagues’ support and have access to training like Go Alithya.  

The organization works hard for employee transitions to go as smoothly as possible. At a time when labour is scarce, this is a huge benefit that really stands out! 

The change for me went without a hitch. I had the pleasure of being a quality assurance analyst, which means working at the end of the project lifecycle, once everything has been completed and the only thing left to do is to confirm any modifications. Now in my role as PO, I focus on the start of the project lifecycle. I am responsible for communicating with clients and supporting them during the process, explaining their needs to my team of developers and analysts, obtaining the products, and conducting research to answer questions and find solutions to problems that arise. They are very different positions, but as I mentioned earlier, my studies at Collège de Bois-de-Boulogne helped me make a clearer decision regarding my career objectives.  

And I am thrilled to be part of an organization of Alithya's calibre, which gives me the opportunity to develop my skills and meet new professional challenges!