Software Developer Apprenticeships

We are launching a Software Developer Apprenticeship allowing employers to hire developers without hiring fees.

Who are Founders and Coders?

Founders and Coders is a UK-based nonprofit that has been running tuition-free, peer-led training programmes in web development in London since 2014. We have also worked with Mercy Corps and with the UK government to deliver programmes in the Middle East.

What makes us unique?

We have been able to reliably produce strong alumni for five reasons:

  1. Competitive selection process
  2. Open-source curriculum
  3. Peer-led learning
  4. Community support
  5. Strong diversity focus

Competitive selection process: the widest pool and highest entry bar

As we have never charged our students, we are oversubscribed many times over. Our application process requires applicants to complete a series of programming tasks, on which successful candidates will typically work for several months before being ready to apply for the programme.

Open-source curriculum: modern, relevant and iterative

The Founders and Coders curriculum is used by several other training organisations around the world. Our coursebook sees a weekly stream of change requests, suggestions and code commits, reflecting the constant flow of feedback from students and updates from staff and volunteers.

Peer-led learning

We focus relentlessly on peer learning, pair programming and on creating an inclusive classroom environment that cultivates developers capable of working both respectfully and productively as part of a team.

Community support

We run cohorts of no more than 16 developers to ensure that the highest bar for learning is maintained. Our learners benefit from an extraordinary alumni community, dozens of whom volunteer every cohort by giving talks or offering mentorship and coaching.

A focus on diversity

It has always been our aim to promote inclusion, equity and diversity in tech and our graduates reflect that aim more with each passing year.

Why apprenticeships?

Providing apprenticeships is an exciting new development, allowing us to go further than our tuition-free programme for the benefit of students and employers alike.

For students: making software development even more accessible

Apprenticeships allow students to earn an apprentice wage while they are learning, opening up this career path to a much wider group of people for whom even a “free” course (with all the costs of living in London) has been previously unaffordable.

For employers: efficient access to dedicated and diverse developers

By utilising the employers’ Apprenticeship Levy to cover our training costs, we provide you with a new route to accessing our developers without fees, even before they graduate.

How do apprenticeships work?

We have already started preparing candidates for our first apprenticeship intake in 2021, with interviews beginning this year. Should you have your own candidates, we will, of course, be delighted to work with them. In particular, if you want to support your staff to switch career or to hire people from within the communities you serve, then we can support you with a pre-apprenticeship programme that will ensure your people are ready before they make the full-time switch to software development.

What do you need to do to get involved?

All we need from you is an agreement in principle to screen and interview candidates. If you don’t find the candidates you want, then we don’t expect you to hire anyone. If things change, we will be starting new cohorts at regular intervals, so that you can hire an apprentice whenever you are ready.

What will it cost?

If you contribute to the apprenticeship levy, then the cost of this training is already covered. For non-levy payers, at least 95% of the training costs are covered. Over the course of their first year, the total cost to you will be less than if you were just to hire a junior developer at the going rate and, in all probability, the outcomes will be better for everyone.

When does the first apprentice cohort start

We have already started preparing apprentice applicants. The first round of employer interviews will take place in February for apprentice training starting in March in preparation for joining your team full-time in June 2021.