Surge in demand at Sheffield tech training school as workers retrain to beat pandemic

A Sheffield software training firm has seen a surge in demand as people retrain in ‘secure’ sectors to beat the pandemic.
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Lockdown has led to a boom in remote working and online shopping and bosses at The Developer Academy say demand for coders has never been greater.

Since March, it has had 18 new students who had been made redundant or furloughed. The company offers six-month, £4,000 courses in software development and coding, including part-time ‘bootcamps’ and fast-track options.

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Nationally, thousands of jobs have been lost due to lockdown including at blue chip firms such as BA, Easyjet, Marks & Spencer, BP, Rolls-Royce, Boots. Meanwhile, Harveys, Monsoon, Victoria’s Secret, and Debenhams have gone into administration.

Ben Atha, of The Developer Academy in SheffieldBen Atha, of The Developer Academy in Sheffield
Ben Atha, of The Developer Academy in Sheffield

Ben Atha, owner of The Developer Academy, said they had seen new students from ‘all sorts of backgrounds’ and with little or no coding knowledge.

He added: “It’s not surprising, as software development is a career path that opens a huge amount of doors, especially in a world that is becoming more and more dependent on technology and online services.

“We would encourage anyone who is worried about the security of their current role to consider retraining in software development, or similar work within the tech industry, as within the current climate, it’s certainly one of the more secure industries.”

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Tim Norwood started a course due to job insecurity while working in theatre. Now he is a software developer at ‘crypto trading platform’ Inx Ltd in Sheffield.

Tim Norwood retrained due to job insecurity in theatre and is now a software developer at ‘crypto trading platform’ Inx Ltd in Sheffield.Tim Norwood retrained due to job insecurity in theatre and is now a software developer at ‘crypto trading platform’ Inx Ltd in Sheffield.
Tim Norwood retrained due to job insecurity in theatre and is now a software developer at ‘crypto trading platform’ Inx Ltd in Sheffield.

He said: “I looked to see if there were any training courses in Sheffield and came across the Developer Academy. I did a short trial before signing up to the bootcamp and got to meet the students and instructors, everyone was very open and friendly. I also got to see the quality of teaching which was great.

“Another factor is that the course is part-time, so I knew I’d be able to keep up with the workload and my other commitments.”

He added: “It was through course leader Ben Atha that I connected with the company director over LinkedIn, and that led to me getting the job - before the end of my course.”

Another alumni, Michael Heenan, aged 37, was an engineer who wanted a career with more job opportunities and growth potential. He retrained with the academy and learnt the fundamentals of coding and front and back end development. The course allowed him to work during his training. He is now a software developer at Sheffield company Razor.

Michael said: “What I really liked about their approach was the flexibility – that everything is tailored with help from the instructors.”

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