CodeClan, the UK’s first accredited digital skills academy, is set for expansion in Glasgow in 2018 – and is asking local companies to join their community.
CodeClan runs a 16-week Professional Software Development course from its Glasgow and Edinburgh hubs and is relocating the Glasgow operation from the city’s Tontine building to the flexible office and co-working space Clockwise in March in order to accommodate both an increased number of students and a growing team.
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The number of students at CodeClan Glasgow will double in March, with two cohorts running side-by-side until the end of year bringing the number of graduates to 120 in 2018. They’re studying on a highly rated programme that has seen 70 per cent of those actively looking for jobs from the most recent graduating class secure employment within just four weeks. Positions are spread across Scotland’s commercial and public sectors in roles as diverse as Software Developers, UX Analysts and Testers.
At the same time, CodeClan will grow its Glasgow team to support the additional student numbers. Instrumental in CodeClan’s success to date has been its growing network of “Employer Partners”, a high percentage of whom have hired or plan to hire CodeClan graduates. In Glasgow alone, the employer partner count has almost doubled in the last six months and includes Fintech customer data startup, Castlight, recruitment software solution, Firefish, and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).
CodeClan CEO, Melinda Matthews Clarkson, said: “Glasgow’s tech scene has been on a well charted upward trajectory in recent times. The city will be home to Scotland’s first Innovation District, has a number of powerhouse universities and has thriving commercial and public sectors. We’re excited to be playing a part in providing the digital skills that we know can be a game-changer to the success of the region’s economy. With 20 students graduating every 6 weeks, we’re asking any Glasgow companies hiring into digital roles to get in touch and see how we can help.”
Castlight CEO, Phil Grady, whose Fintech company has hired three CodeClan graduates, said: “Finding the best staff is always a challenge, particularly at a time when there’s a digital skills shortage in Scotland. Having CodeClan in Glasgow has been great for us as we can now access extremely talented, motivated people, in our backyard – we get to know them before they graduate and have a chance to help shape what they’re learning.”
In January, CodeClan launched a Digital Women’s Group to help drive a women in tech initiative and has intentions to make scholarships available for women, in addition to male or female applicants who face financial constraints, in 2018. While almost 1 in 4 graduates placed in tech roles to date have been female, CodeClan is aiming for women to total 40 per cent of its graduating classes by 2020.
CodeClan was launched in October 2015 and is supported by the Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland and ScotlandIS as part of the Government’s Digital Strategy for Scotland. Almost 350 people have graduated from its Professional Software Development course, with over 90 per cent going on to secure employment within 6 months, and an additional 320 people are expected to graduate in 2018.
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