Established in 2015, CodeClan offered both full- and part-time courses centred around coding and data analysis. The academy served as a major pipeline of new talent into Scottish technology companies as well firms located further afield.

Last Friday, the organisation’s webpage was updated to inform the public that it had gone into liqudation, ceased all operations, and that all staff were made redundant. With no staff, the paying students are unable to continue their studies.

Stuart Ure from Edinburgh, who used all his savings to enrol in CodeClan’s Professional Software Development course, has now launched a crowdfunding campaign so instructors can be paid to help the students finish their bootcamps.

On the JustGiving page, Ure wrote: “I have struggled to find my way career-wise as an adult, gaining experience in multiple sectors but still moving from low paid job to low paid job, unfulfilled but knowing I was capable and willing; I wanted more for myself.

“I left my job, a scary thing to do at 34 years old, and put all my savings into the CodeClan Professional Software Development course; a long term investment into my future. I felt confident that CodeClan was the right company for me to learn with – Scotland-wide, government-backed, designed to fill a skills shortage; a good bet on all counts.”

However, “On Thursday, the day before the news broke, we presented our first projects, and as we walked to the pub afterwards to celebrate, the air was full of excitement and promise. Little did we know, this would all come crashing down on us less than 24 hours later.”

Ure urged that the campaign — which at the time of writing has amassed nearly £17,000 of its £50,000 target — is not to help students recoup their money, but rather to pay instructors for their time to help seven separate cohorts of students upskill and complete their courses.

“Please help these cohorts finish their 16 week bootcamps. We took a risk, we put everything into our learning with the promise of a better life in the future. I do believe that opportunity is still there, but we do need to be able to finish the course. Please help us do this,” Ure wrote.

The crowdfund can be found here.

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The Scottish Government: Any Support for CodeClan?
The news that CodeClan was entering administration rocked the Scottish tech sector over the weekend, with many people across social media sharing both their shock and support, as well as their positive experiences either at CodeClan themselves or with its graduates.

Some also questioned whether the Scottish Government could step in to keep the academy afloat. Just over a year ago, it was announced that the Scottish Government was awarding a £42 million contract to CodeBase — the neighbour of CodeClan — to establish several tech scale-up hubs across Scotland.

Ceri Shaw, who was CodeClan’s CPO, responded to such queries in a LinkedIn post. They wrote: “I wanted to quickly address a few of the comments I’ve seen along the lines of ‘surely the Scottish Government would have stepped in’. The CodeClan executive team was in touch with the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise about financial support for CodeClan since the beginning of the year and many occasions since. For whatever reason, they were unable or unwilling to offer financial support when it came down to it, despite positive indications up to that point.”

UPDATE: A Scottish Government spokesperson provided a comment to DIGIT on Monday evening, saying: “Codeclan has for many years played a valuable role in Scotland’s tech scene, and this development is deeply regrettable.

“The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise worked intensively with CodeClan, including employing independent financial consultants, to explore every possible option to help the organisation secure a sustainable future.

“Through the PACE programme, Skills Development Scotland is already making arrangements to support staff during this extremely difficult time. We are also working closely with the liquidator and other interested parties to develop solutions for impacted students.”