First printed on Medium by Thaisa Money of Geckoboard
We’ve been looking for a while at what we can practically do to make a job in the UK’s tech sector more accessible to a wider range of people. After looking at a variety of organizations, CodeYourFuture immediately caught our attention as a non-profit organization that support refugees with the dream of becoming developers. And that is why we are sponsoring them.
Many asylum seekers and refugees have a desire to build up their technology skills, but their lives are interrupted and they’re forced to leave their studies unfinished at home. When they arrive in the UK, learning opportunities are few and far between as they work hard to integrate into a completely new culture.
CodeYourFuture want to change this. Last year, they launched the first cohort of a six-month web development program coached by a group of professional developers. Today, they’re running new classes in London and Glasgow. Their help goes beyond just classes, with support in important areas such as:
- Taking direct transport links to classes rather than longer, cheaper, and less reliable routes.
- Internet at home where they may not have the luxury of being able to sign up to a 12-month internet contract.
- Making sure that they have food during class-times at no additional cost to them.
- Providing laptops for them.
- Interview training so that they are prepared when applying for internships.
The CodeYourFuture program has already been successful with four students who are now in professional employment, plus a student progressing into higher education.
How can you help?
We’ve signed up to support nine students for their remaining three-month program, but we believe our help can go beyond that. With a lot of the UK’s tech companies in our customer base and audience, we ask if you might be able to support CodeYourFuture in two key areas:
- Mock Interviews: This year we have agreed to host an event with CodeYourFuture to help their students prepare for job interviews. If you are interested in being part of a mock interview panel, please email CYF@geckoboard.com.
- Unused Laptops: All technology companies have that cupboard filled with unused laptops. If you could spare a few of these laptops that are gathering dust, they would be extremely valuable to CodeYourFuture’s students. Laptops can be dropped off by hand or courier via Geckoboard’s London offices. For more information please email CYF@geckoboard.com.
If you’re interested in supporting or sponsoring CodeYourFuture more generally you can email them at contact@codeyourfuture.co.
