A host of Scottish companies and universities are set to welcome interns from the CodeClan Youth Academy, a partnership between the digital skills academy and investment management group Baillie Gifford.

The partnership aims to give young people a real-world experience of how a technology-driven business operates in a workplace setting.

The 14 interns will be taking up paid positions at FreeAgent, Stellar Omada, Heriot-Watt’s Robotarium, DirectID, Inoapps, Cademy, and Lane Media following a four-week coding bootcamp at CodeClan.

Commenting on the partnership, CodeClan CEO Melinda Matthews-Clarkson said: “As Mark Logan outlined last week at Turing Fest, education is one of the key pillars required if Scotland’s tech community is to reach a tipping point and establish itself as a truly leading technology hub.

“Additionally, the requirement for digital skills at every kind of organisation is on a steep upward curve. CodeClan Youth Academy demonstrates that, with more buy-in from across the Scottish business scene, we can help to address this pressing concern.””

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Yvonne Robertson, Chief of Information Systems Staff at Baillie Gifford, added: “We have been really encouraged to see the CodeClan Youth Academy get off the ground, we hope it can be the first of many to come, and to echo Melinda the success of the initiative will rely on even more companies coming forward to support the academy.”

The CodeClan Youth Academy (CCYA) caters for young people aged between 16 and 21, providing participants with key programming skills typically required in an industry environment.

While the Academy offers a vital opportunity for young people to develop skills, it also acts a potential talent pipeline for Scottish businesses amidst the growing digital skills gap.

Almost two-thirds of organisations in Scotland are struggling to find people with business-critical digital skills. Similarly, businesses across the country also report a concerning shortage of specialist entry-level talent.

Dermot Murray, VP of Technology, Inoapps, said: “Inoapps believes that investing in the next generation of digital talent is going to be critical to our future growth and success. The digital skills crisis means that it is proving ever more difficult to source future talent, and it is therefore vital that we invest and grow our own talent through programmes such as this.

“Inoapps has had a long and successful partnership with CodeClan, having recruited over 30 graduates from their Digital Skills bootcamp into a wide variety of digital roles, and we welcome this new initiative.”

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