CodeClan CEO Melinda Matthews-Clarkson is set to step down after five years leading Scotland’s digital skills academy.

Matthews-Clarkson plans to take a sabbatical in her native United States before pursuing a new position in the Scottish technology ecosystem during 2023.

Commenting on her departure, Matthews-Clarkson said she leaves the digital skills academy in a “solid state” and prime position to continue supporting the tech sector.

She said: “We navigated our way through a challenging pandemic, and the ecosystem here is hungry for skilled tech individuals, so I felt it was a good time to pass the baton to a new leader.”

During her tenure, the CodeClan team has grown from around 20 people to over 60, while turnover has grown from approximately £1 million to close to £3 million.

However, Matthews-Clarkson noted that the digital academy’s graduates are the real measure of success.

She said: “The best thing has been seeing the students graduate, get their dream jobs, and then seeing them being promoted, buying homes, and starting families – that’s a hard yardstick to beat!

“As a not-for-profit social enterprise, we have weathered many storms over the last five years, facing them with a growth mindset, collaborative problem-solving, and a determination to see things through.  I could not be prouder to be part of our amazing team.

“Five years ago, I put a quote on the wall of CodeClan’s Edinburgh campus, which said, ‘Will it be easy?  Nope, but worth it?  Absolutely.’

“Now I understand that quote applies to all that study and work at CodeClan.  It is a unique environment that allows people to grow, learn and connect with passionate people around technology.”

New leadership at CodeClan

Replacing Matthews-Clarkson at the helm of CodeClan is Loral Quinn, former co-founder and CEO at Edinburgh-based fintech, Sustainably.

In a statement on social media, Quinn said: “It’s only been a week since I started my handover, but I already feel like I’ve been at CodeClan for months. So far I have been inspired by the passion of the team, and the focus, determination and diverse backgrounds of the students.

“What we do at CodeClan is really important and it is a very exciting time for the tech ecosystem as a whole in Scotland, and for us in the middle of it all. I’m pretty well connected and I’ll be using my own playbook to help CodeClan, our students, and our business partners, grow. I’m a lifelong learner so I look forward to learning a lot too!”

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Founded in 2015, CodeClan aims to bridge the digital skills gap and develop a new generation of digital professionals in Scotland.

The digital skills academy focuses on equipping students with industry-led training with a view to securing employment.

Since its launch, CodeClan has since supported more than 2,000 people in gaining skills to transform their careers, working with in excess of 400 industry partners across Scotland’s commercial and public sectors.

Earlier this year, CodeClan Youth Academy, a partnership with investment management group Baillie Gifford, was established aimed at giving young people a real-world experience of how a technology-driven business operates.

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