Heriot-Watt University, one of Scotland’s leading STEM universities, has announced a partnership with Scotland’s digital skills academy CodeClan.

Programming courses will be delivered to the university’s Software Development Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) through a pilot programme starting in January 2022.

The partnership with CodeClan will enable the university Graduate Apprenticeship candidates to fast-track the first year of the four-year programme by completing CodeClan’s software and user experience course.

Candidates undertake the 16-week course via virtual classrooms as part of the partnership, which will enable them to code and be more productive within organisations quicker.

The Apprenticeships are also a new way for individuals to get qualified up to Master’s degree level while in paid employment. They are designed with employers and offered in key sectors that need highly skilled employees.

Sara Dodd, Digital Business Strategist, Heriot-Watt University, commented: “This partnership enables our GAs to gain productive programming skills at an accelerated pace and to complete a BSc Hons in Software Development that will give them the opportunity to progress significantly faster in their careers within their employer organisations”.

Commenting on the collaboration, Melinda Matthews-Clarkson, CEO, CodeClan, said: “We’re excited to be partnering with Heriot-Watt, who have a long-established tradition in the area of graduate apprenticeships and one of the most dynamic programmes in the Scottish university sector.

“Because we have a large team dedicated to cutting-edge, industry-relevant digital skills training, there is a strong rationale for CodeClan to provide these kind of courses to the university.

“Working with Heriot-Watt, we can deploy the kind of skills that are sought by employers across every sector of industry.”

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Heriot-Watt’s Graduate Apprenticeship initiative is one of the largest of its kind in the Scottish university sector. It has partnerships with over 70 companies and organisations – from large multinationals to SMEs and the public sector.

GAs are supported by Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council. They were developed in partnership with industry and the higher education sectors, with support from the European Social Fund.

CodeClan said it experienced “record demand” for its programming, data and bespoke courses in 2020, and recently marked its fifth anniversary having produced over 1,000 graduates since opening its doors in 2015.

For more information, contact the Heriot-Watt team on ga@hw.ac.uk.

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