Code Your Future – Software Development Scholarships

Coding School for underprivileged people launches in Birmingham.

Earlier this year, the City of Birmingham held its very first Tech Week aiming to put Birmingham (and the wider region) firmly on the global Tech map, give Birmingham Tech companies a platform to showcase their innovation and encourage further investment in the City. Events were
held across the City to showcase the great work already taking place, offer training opportunities and encourage collaborative working in Technology.

In the UK, there is a shortage of tech skills, even though tech has a lower barrier to entry than other professions. This means the higher salaries in tech have a strong positive effect in disadvantaged communities. The unemployment rate among refugees in the UK is at 18%, three times that of the UK-born population. This untapped potential can be a boon for local
economies, and at the same time a powerful vehicle for better integration.

This is where Code Your Future’s unique model has seen real opportunity in Birmingham, with a launch planned for February 2020. A national charity, established in 2016, Code Your Future run free of charge coding schools for refugees, migrants and people from disadvantaged backgrounds with successful programmes currently set up in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Rome.

Courses run for 8 months, with one day a week used as class-based study and the rest as independent study. The aim of the course is to support students into employment, with 70% of graduates from previous classes having found employment or further education opportunities within 6 months of graduating.

Students won’t just learn full stack web development, Code Your Future also provide personal development along the way, meaning students have the opportunity to work on CVs, interview skills and build confidence along the way. The most unique part about this programme is that the course is mostly delivered by volunteers and funding is offered to cover travel, equipment and childcare; which shows how Code Your Future are truly building and supporting communities.

“We’ve created a space where volunteers can share their time and expertise to help build the next generation of tech superstars. There is no cost to the participants and, critically, we are helping to solve the digital skills gap. It really is a win-win situation. We wanted to create the most positive impact among the refugee and asylum seeker community. We quickly realized a dearth of options existed for these groups in terms of career choices. We knew that helping this community to become part of the tech ecosystem would be an optimal way to help with a new start.”

Founder, Germán Bencci

To find out more about Code Your Future in Birmingham, you can contact Regional Manager Claire Blickley at claire@codeyourfuture.io or to sign up as a volunteer, visit www.codeyourfuture.io