Women in Tech: Ange Stone
The third story in the series of our Women in Tech interviews. This time, we speak to Ange Stone our Senior Technology Manager.
How did you decide to pursue a career in technology? Was it your childhood ambition or a spontaneous decision to work in the field?
It was not my intention, but now that I am here, I wouldn’t be anywhere else. Tech is involved in everything! It’s very exciting.
I began my career at Nuffield in 2000 as a Fitness Advisor. I always had a passion to progress and worked my way up to General Manager of our Crawley Fitness and Wellbeing centre, via our internal career progression pathway.
In 2008 an IT project, required a General Manager for a secondment onto a project, to role out a new Membership System and I was successful in my application.
When the project came to an end two years later, I was offered a permanent position in IT as a Support Specialist. I have never looked back!
What are your biggest achievements / moments you’re most proud of in the workplace?
There are so many! But the achievements that resonate the most are:
During the Membership System roll-out project we travelled the UK and delivered training to 1000’s of team members. The deployment was successful and enabled Nuffield Health to track prospects and convert them to Members and collect membership fees via BACs.
Prior to that we had been using pen and paper and a 1-31 box for sales and an outdated system to collect fees.
What advice can you give to women considering a career in tech?
Personally, I do not feel gender has played any part in my career in Tech, however, if I had to give anyone advice regarding a successful career. I would suggest these three tips:
Self-learning – Continue to learn and improve. Nuffield Health offer some fantastic apprenticeships in the technology arena.
Set Goals – It’s good practice to have goals with timescales. Having something to work towards is motivational and keeps you focussed.·
Social Media – If you find you can be drawn into the black hole of social media, switch up who you follow and include relevant accounts on Instagram and LinkedIn so that you learn as you scroll
Do you think that women have the same opportunities as men in the tech world? How can we change that?
Absolutely! Especially here at Nuffield Health. I am surrounded by courageous, intelligent, and passionate women.
A great quote by Richard Branson “If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later.”