Name: We Got Coders
Based: Blunham
Website: wegotcoders.com
We Got Coders has an innovative model of training coders: an intensive 12-week course that gives them the skills they need to start client work for the first time. But the businesses’ move from inner city classroom to rural residential training centre, and the unique, real-time mentoring trainees get when they begin paid work, truly represents smarter working.
Since 2013 the training was conducted in London’s Old Street. While this is code industry heartland, it had some disadvantages: many trainees had a tiring commute of an hour or more, the building was cramped and urban noise was distracting.
However, in January 2015 the company relocated to a converted watermill in rural Bedfordshire where trainees stay for the entire course. With everything provided for, trainees can live and breathe code. Tutors also stay on-site, so if a trainee is working late and has an issue, they can get personal help right away. Being residential means no commute, which over 12 weeks adds up to an extra 14 days of FaceTime with tutors. This all translates into much greater productivity.
When trainees graduate, they’re placed in-house with paying clients. Whereas clients often have to take a risk, giving untested coders permanent contracts, We Got Coders offers people on a trial basis, supported by mentors who can assist them via their own collaborative screen-sharing software if they’re struggling to solve a code problem. This model makes the training and recruitment process, and the trainee’s transition to professional coding work, a great deal smarter.
Dan Garland is director of We Got Coders
