Is Birmingham Suffering From A Tech Skills Shortage?
School of Code are looking to fill it with their upcoming coding Bootcamp.
Originally published on our Bootcamp website at: http://bootcamp.schoolofcode.co.uk/2017/07/28/is-birmingham-suffering-from-a-tech-skills-shortage/
Birmingham, UK — 28 July 2017 — Birmingham start-up School of Code are running a coding Bootcamp in Birmingham this September, taking 16 people from beginner to software developer in just 16 weeks. As the first of its kind in the West Midlands, the process will take its recruits through a team-based, project-driven, and industry-led course designed to help create collaborative problem solvers who will be ready to work in the tech industry come the new year. The successful finalists will be announced during the w/c 31st July.
With many Birmingham business leaders believing that the city’s tech industry is suffering from a “skills gap in the West Midlands in new technologies” (Peter Chatterley, Managing Director of Talent Hackers) it is important to be thinking of ways to tackle this issue. In a recent article from Digital Leaders, figures showed that ‘Birmingham hasn’t stood out as a region focused on digital growth’. A big problem is not only the lack of developers, but also the lack of diversity within this field. In Packt Publishing’s third annualSkill Up survey, a majority of the respondents (who were 91% male) believed the tech industry had a gender diversity issue. The report reads: ‘Over 60% of respondents felt that diversity [in both gender and ethnicity] was a needed and important quality for the tech workforce’, demonstrating the need to attract a wider variety of people into the industry.
School of Code’s astounding number of applications for their Bootcamp proves that this skills gap is not due to a lack of ambition. With almost 300 candidates from the West Midlands and further, the desire to learn to code is present across all ages, backgrounds and genders — reinforced by the 50:50 gender split of applicants (read more here). This is a positive step in the right direction for Birmingham’s tech scene, showing how many people in the region are looking to get these skills. By teaching full-stack Javascript development on the Bootcamp, School of Code are looking to address this developer skills gap and support Birmingham’s tech population.
School of Code have partnered with Packt Publishing, who will provide sponsorship for the Bootcamp in order to make it free for those on the course. They also offer esteemed experience in teaching IT professionals, with over 1 million developers using their services to date. As the headline sponsors on the course, Packt are investing in Birmingham’s local talent pool and addressing the skills shortage by supporting the region’s tech population. Innovation Birmingham are also supporting the School of Code Bootcamp by hosting space at their iCentrum building. With 150 digital businesses and 1200 digital employees on the Innovation Campus, it’s an ideal location for the Bootcamp to be held.
School of Code are looking to include the whole Birmingham tech community in this exciting new venture, and are offering businesses and individuals many different ways of getting involved with the Bootcamp. Contact bootcamp@schoolofcode.co.uk to find out more.
