Bath health tech firm Mayden’s innovative approach to specialist skills training has been praised by West of England Mayor Tim Bowles after he visited its Widcombe base.
Mayden has set up its own academy to run intensive training in coding, software development and project management for potential employees – a move that has not only benefitted the firm but also other local businesses.
The 16-week course, which is open to non-graduates and graduates, has already produced 18 work-ready software developers. Participants have included a former shelf-stacker, social care administrator and maths graduate and it has a 100% success rate in getting participants into coding jobs within 90 days of completing the course.
Speaking following his visit to Mayden, Mayor Bowles said: “This is a really innovative example of an employer investing in training local people and equipping them with the right skills for high-quality jobs.
“Ensuring our residents have the right skills for the future is one of my key priorities for the region, and I’ve had initial discussions with universities, colleges, skills and training providers.
“It’s essential that we all work together, not only to ensure that our residents have the skills employers need today, but that we’re planning for the skills they will need in 10 or 20 years.”
Mayden Academy lead Mike Oram added: “The digital sector in the UK is growing twice as fast as any other industry; it is projected there will be over 1m unfilled jobs in the industry by 2020.
“Mayden Academy is trying to help fill the gap by training people with skills that employers need. We work closely with many different tech companies to ensure our curriculum meets their needs. Programming is not just for university graduates anymore, it is for everyone.”
The Mayden Academy curriculum is designed to prepare students for a junior developer role with the option of allowing them to also take individual modules at their own pace.
Students are able to learn directly from experienced professional software developers and trainers, as coursework is created in-house at Mayden.
Among the first intake of trainees at the Mayden Academy was geology graduate Charlie Coggans, who wanted to find a way into the world of coding after a career in digital marketing and hospitality.
He joined to get intensively trained up in coding after attending an open day and has now been employed by the company for a year.
Charlie said: “Mayden Academy really suited me because it’s visual, well-resourced and there is always someone to answer questions. I saw a lot of online courses but I wanted to have a tutor on hand to be able to make coding come to life and learn as part of a team.
“This industry has a great work-life balance – I’m always learning and the puzzle element of coding really appeals to me. I’ve done it without a computer science background and I would certainly recommend Mayden Academy for anyone who prefers a hands-on approach.”
Fast-growing software development firm Mayden creates cutting-edge web applications, bespoke systems and cloud-based packages for organisations in the healthcare sector. It recently won the People’s Choice award at the SPARKies – the awards celebrating the best of the region’s tech sector.
Pictured: Mayor Tim Bowles meets Aimee Wyld and Charlie Coggans from the Mayden Academy
