The South West’s first coding fellowship

Why is everyone talking about coding?

It might appear that everywhere you look people are learning to code. Teens are attending code clubs and connecting Raspberry Pis to their toasters, kids are building games in Scratch, college leavers and graduates are attending bootcamps, leaving their jobs to become developers. 

Coding and digital skills have become increasingly important to almost every job, with those understanding the web and digital technologies becoming hugely in-demand in today’s job market. According to The UK Digital Skills Taskforce “…the need for these skills is immediate and will grow on an exponential scale in the coming years.”

It’s no surprise. The web has become a major part of everyone’s lives in the past 15 years – traditional education has struggled to keep pace with the skills required in our new digital economy – as highlighted in ‘Make or Break: The UK’s Digital Future report. People are simply not being taught the commercially relevant skills they need for the future.  

The latest TechNation report (PDF) confirms that there are more people employed in the digital sector in Bristol and Bath than in any other UK regional area. Digital job growth is predicted to outperform all other occupation categories by 2020 with Bristol and Bath being one of the fastest growing digital sectors in the UK.

This all adds up to a great opportunity for those looking to enter the field. As a result, bootcamps, internships and apprenticeships are being taken up as serious alternatives to university. With these alternatives being much quicker than a 3+ year degree, cheaper than the c.£27,000 in fees you can expect, and leaving graduates with more relevant, up-to-date skills, not to mention real world commercial experience – the reasons why are clear. 

Announcing the new ‘Coding Fellowship’ from Develop Me.

The reality is that business is moving faster than education. It’s against this backdrop that Develop Me, the Bristol-based digital skills training company, have launched Bristol’s first ‘Coding Fellowship’ programme.

The ‘Coding Fellowship’ is an intensive full-time course, taking you from amateur to professional web developer in 12 weeks. The unique programme combines industry informed curriculum, up to date industry knowledge from disciplinary experts, ‘real-world’ live projects and work placements in partnership with commercial sponsors. All working together as a small cohort embedded at the heart of the tech community in Bristol.

The course fees are £7,500 for the full programme. However, it’s appreciated this is not accessible to all, even as a more reasonable and faster alternative to university. With this in mind Develop Me has been established as a social business looking to address the skills gap and open up opportunities across all of society. They are therefore offering part- or fully-funded places through their ‘Fellowship Fund’ – facilitating access to well paid and rewarding careers especially to those who have historically been excluded from the sector.

Businesses involved with the scheme, as supporters, directly benefit by helping to solve the skills gap holding the sector back from the ground up. They will also gain access to a new pool of highly skilled web developers, secure input into the course content and create opportunities for a new, diverse, generation of digital talent – all whilst securing the future of the UK’s digital economy.

Develop Me’s mission is to create a learning community for the 21st century digital world. The world of digital technology holds so many innovative solutions for society and the web is one of the most democratic tools ever created. Learning to code offers an opportunity to be at the forefront of this digital revolution. 

Pete New – one of Develop Me’s founders said:

“With over one million digital jobs advertised nationally in 2014 and a 5.4% growth predicted over the next 5 years, the industry needs to be adopting and encouraging new routes into the sector. Our ‘Coding Fellowship’ is a fast track into a career in one of the most exciting and innovative industries of our times. With the fellowship, and the support of industry, we hope to start chipping away at the skills gap and increasing diversity in the digital industries.”

Just launched, the scheme already has support from the region’s digital skills bodies, including Nicky Williams from the Creative Skills Hub, who had this to say:

“The Coding Fellowship will bring another innovative entry-point into our world class tech and digital sector in the West of England. It is an imperative to have responsive and relevant training opportunities to sustain the growth and meet the needs of this fast changing industry. 

With the digital economy on an upward spiral our region needs a range of pathways and routes in that will encourage the diversity we need in the sector.”

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To find out more – please email [email protected] or visit www.developme.training/fellowship.

Applications are open for enrolment in the Spring 2016 cohort.

Businesses can find out how to get involved www.developme.training/fellowship/support