Empowering digital leaders of tomorrow with Salesforce and ReDi School

Get inspired by Ahmed Sukker’s journey to a successful career in the Salesforce Ecosystem.

ReDI (Ready for Digital Integration) School is a non-profit tech school providing access to free digital education. 100% of their students come from underserved communities. ReDi School is based in Berlin, Germany, with multiple locations across Denmark and Sweden. Together with the Salesforce Talent Ecosystem team, ReDI builds courses that prepare participants for Salesforce Associate and Admin certifications. Trailhead Virtual Bootcamps are part of the courses.

We’ve spoken to one of ReDI’s alumni, Ahmed Sukker, to discuss his experience building a career in the Salesforce Ecosystem. Ahmed currently holds three Salesforce Certifications and works as a Salesforce Consultant at Eigenherd GmbH, a company that actively supports ReDI School as a volunteer partner.

What did you do before the ReDI program and why did you decide to participate?

After completing my MA studies, I worked in a variety of academic institutes as a student research assistant, then I worked as a client associate and subsequently as a real-time management associate for a couple of years. Unfortunately, I wasn’t happy with my profession, and I started to seek a new career. The IT sector was the most logical choice because I’d already taught myself Python, but I didn’t consider pursuing it professionally as I lacked credentials and experience. In 2021, I heard about Salesforce from a job advert and became curious to learn more. It seemed to combine expertise in business, which I’m familiar with, and technology, which I’m passionate about. So I joined ReDI School to see if it was right for me.

Once I started, I realised I was embarking on an adventure that would change my life! I loved the platform and what you can achieve with it – at every step there was a reward. The Salesforce online learning platform Trailhead made learning effective and fun, and the Trailblazer Community was generous with their support. The certification system defined clear milestones, and once I passed my first Admin cert, I was already planning for my second.

How did you find the course offered by ReDI school?

I had a full-time job so I liked the fact I could organise my learning to fit my life. Sessions were twice a week, in the evening, and the Trailhead Virtual Bootcamp sessions were recorded so we could watch them during our own time. The course was well structured and provided goals and guidance, which was much-needed motivation. Trailhead offered clarity and enabled me to measure the progress of my learning.

Did you come across any hardships during the program?

Yes, it was difficult sometimes to follow the learning material due to unfamiliarity with either the business or the technical aspect of a solution. Sometimes, I spent my learning time simply searching for answers to: “Why do we do that?”. In the beginning, it was also hard to familiarise myself with Salesforce. It took me time and practice to get used to finding what I was looking for. And of course, it was challenging to keep up the same level of motivation, especially while working full-time.

What do you like about Salesforce?

I like many things about Salesforce, but I’ll mention my top three:

1. It’s constantly developing and offering new features, meaning better solutions for businesses.
2. Trailhead provides well-structured learning that’s flexible and free, so people can learn at their own convenience.
3. Salesforce’s features are almost countless, which means greater value in terms of further professional development. Never again will I feel stuck in a job where I don’t feel challenged.

What do you do now?

As a Salesforce consultant at Eigenherd GmbH, my job is to help businesses use Salesforce to its full potential and to provide them with solutions that correspond with their business needs. I mainly build automation using flow and offer consultations to find the most efficient solutions. My job consists of meeting clients, designing solutions, and finally building these solutions in the software.

What about soft skills, do you need them in your job?

Of course, soft skills are as important as technical skills in my job. Communication with clients is key to ensuring the success of projects, and client satisfaction with the services and solutions we offer is our highest priority. Also, internally, soft skills are key to increasing team efficiency as they’re the vehicle to transport trust, harmony, and sharing responsibilities.

What have you gained since participating in the program?

I now have a career that I can move forward in and which will constantly develop me.

What type of people would you recommend Salesforce to?

I’d recommend Salesforce to anyone who has a passion for CRM technologies and who is willing to dedicate the time and effort to learn them. It requires lots of dedication, motivation, commitment, and passion. And the reward in terms of job satisfaction, self-development, and career prospects is absolutely worth it.

Julian Kortendieck, ReDI’s Tech Education Lead, comments:

“The ReDI community is very fortunate to have Salesforce as a close partner. Together we deliver a course which leads to the Salesforce Administrator certification. Students learn via Trailhead Virtual Bootcamps and volunteers support our students through coaching. This collaboration empowers our students to take a big step towards a job. Ahmed is one of our role models who transitioned straight into a Salesforce career!”

The Salesforce Talent Ecosystem team collaborates with workforce development partners, like ReDI School, to change people’s lives, like Ahmed’s, and give them rewarding careers in the IT sector. If you would like to know more about our initiatives, whether you are an interested student or our new potential partner, feel free to visit our website or join LinkedIn group and get in touch with us.