Accenture supports tech bootcamp for people facing barriers to employment

IT services giant Accenture is donating nearly half a million pounds to a UK software development and data skills bootcamp targeted at young people who are not in education.

Accenture’s £450,000 donation will enable the programme organisers to fund the training element of apprenticeships, mainly at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are offered to graduates of the bootcamp.

The free bootcamp, Tech Talent Accelerator, is run by non-profit youth employability programme Generation UK and education technology (edtech) startup Multiverse. It was created to support young people who face barriers to gaining employment. It is open to 18-24-year-olds without a university degree. The six-week programme teaches coding, full-stack development and web development, and culminates in IT apprenticeships at employers.

There is also a focus on driving representation and diversity in the tech industry. Over the past 12 months, 80% of participants have come from an ethnic minority background, while 50% were female. 

Generation UK recruits candidates to the scheme, while Multiverse places those who graduate into apprenticeships with employers.

One graduate of the Tech Talent Accelerator is 21-year-old Farana Jivan. While studying medicine overseas, she decided it was not the career for her and returned to the UK, where she started offering tutoring services.

It was while building a website to support her freelance tutoring business that she discovered an unexpected talent for IT. “I had to create a website to demonstrate my skills but didn’t want to pay someone to do it, so I learned basic website development skills. While I was learning, I thought ‘I am not too bad at this’.”

Jivan found she was picking things up quickly and decided to push herself. Through a family friend, she was introduced to the Tech Talent Accelerator, which she applied to join through Generation UK. After two entry exams, an online interview and a small final exam, she was offered a place on a course, which she described as very intensive, but also suitable for people without an IT background.

As well as the tech training, the course helps participants understand the working life of tech professionals, said Jivan. This includes completing projects on their own and in groups. “This was great because when you apply for jobs or apprenticeships employers want people that have completed projects. You can give employers these stories and they like that,” she said.

“As the demand for technology skills continues to grow, businesses must do all they can to empower young people with the skills they need to succeed in their career, which is why schemes like this are vital”