Scotland's first dedicated software skills academy is to open its doors in Edinburgh in September with the aim of addressing a national shortage of software developers.
The CodeClan academy - which will be modelled on similar recently set up academies in New York, London and Berlin - aims to create a new generation of software developers that will allow Scotland's increasingly vibrant digital sector to flourish.
The academy - which has been set up as a social enterprise to be managed by IT industry body ScotlandIS in partnership with Skills Development Scotland - hopes that its 16-week courses will be in demand by those who have an aptitude for software coding but need a route into the industry.
There is no age limit for students and a spokeswoman said that the intensive full-time course, to be taught by IT lecturers and software developers working in the industry, would appeal as much to women returning to the workplace, graduates from other fields looking for work in the IT sector, career switchers and coding hobbyists looking to turn their interest into a profession.
The Scottish Government has provided start-up funding for the academy as part of a £6.6 million cash boost to Scotland's IT sector. In the long-term the academy is expected to become self-financing by charging tuition fees of £4,500 to students and £5,000 to employers who take on the academy's graduates.
Starting from October a new course at the academy will launch every 10 weeks, with the first cohort of 20 students graduating in February 2016.
The academy, which will be housed in a former DHSS building in Castle Terrace next to the CodeBase technology incubator, is being launched amid a global shortage of digital skills which is affecting businesses in a wide variety sectors.
Forecasts suggest Scotland's digital sector needs 11,000 new entrants a year and the number of IT graduates and modern apprenticeships is not enough to meet current demand, which is rising by around 2,000 a year.
As a result of that skills shortage, employers are currently offering upwards of £23,000 to £25,000 to recruit entry-level software developers.
CodeClan's Rebecca Heaney said that the industry-led and government-backed academy's curriculum has been tailored to meet market demands in Scotland and the academy is working with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), to offer its graduates recognised Professional Development Awards in software development.
The opening of the digital academy has been welcomed by Nigel Eccles chief executive of FanDuel, the US-focussed fantasy sports provider which last month announced ambitious plans to employ 200 software specialists in Glasgow following the opening of the company's first office in the city.
He said: "We need developers in the tech talent pipeline not just in Edinburgh but throughout Scotland. The growth of any company correlates precisely to the skills and experience of its people. We have found great talent here and we are looking forward to seeing the next generation emerge."
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