To coincide with International Women’s Day, NorthCoders a £30k scholarship funding boost for women looking to get into coding.
The Manchester-based boot camp secured cash to provide five women in the city with the 12-week opportunity thanks to the pledge of support from Ernst and Young.
Following the successful launch of 2017’s NorthCoders #WomenInTech scholarship – which offered two free places – demand was so high external funding was sought.
Amul Batra, MD, said: “At NorthCoders we’re committed to educating future developers to a high standard so that they are ready for the demands of the workplace.
“Thanks to EY we’re able to accept five women onto our next course, starting in May 2017, through fully paid #womenintech scholarships.
“All of our 2016 #womenintech scholars are now in full-time tech roles; many of them telling us their lives have changed completely for the better.
“Having a scholarship relieves the financial pressure some of our students have, which can create a barrier to them beginning their career in technology.
“We’re immensely grateful to receive this support from Ernest and Young.”
EY, one of the largest professional services firm in the world, stepped forward and committed to financing the five scholarships worth £30,000.
Director Liz Scott said: “We’re proud to support women in technology. Both innovation and diversity are incredibly important to us as a firm, so we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with NorthCoders to give five women a chance to progress their careers in the sector.
“We are also proud to be campaign sponsors for International Women’s Day, the theme of which this year is Be Bold for Change – we look forward to seeing the change these scholarships will make.”
Based in Manchester, NorthCoders runs intensive coding courses including Accelerate, where cohorts acquire and develop the skills necessary to graduate as a Junior Developer.
Alongside the training, NorthCoders helps all graduates find employment through various hiring partners, one-on-one coaching sessions with a former Head of Global Recruitment for respected Northern tech company and by assisting with CV writing and applications.
Harriet Ryder, now an instructor at NorthCoders, said she probably learned more on the three-month course than in three years of university.
She added: “As a former student on the first cohort run by NorthCoders I know first-hand the difference the Accelerate course can make to the lives of our graduates and the value of scholarships like those EY is providing.
“I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship from NorthCoders and I now have a career which I love thanks to the training I received as part of the programme.
“I was actually hired by NorthCoders after completing my training and now I help pass on the knowledge I gained on the course to help train future developers as part of the teaching team.”