We are proud to be an anchor partner for South West Institute of Future Technologies (SWIFT), one of the 12 winning bids to create new ‘Institutes of Technology’ across the UK announced by the Department for Education this week.
Mayden Academy are the only coding bootcamp to be partnered on the £170m UK-wide project. SWIFT has been led by Weston College, working with fellow anchor partners including the University of the West of England, Bath College, GKN Aerospace, Airbus and GE Aviation.
Each Institute is led by a consortium of education providers and key employers, to ensure that students receive training in the skills that businesses in most need.
This closely reflects our approach to developing the Mayden Academy curriculum, which is updated on a regular basis with input from our hiring partners. Ongoing feedback from the wider tech community means we can be sure that the tech we teach is as valuable as possible to the employers our graduates will go on to work for (and makes our students highly in demand as developers).
Mike Oram, Director of Mayden Academy, said: “This really backs up what we have been saying for a long time – you don’t need to go to university to develop the skills that are vital in today’s tech economy. We are very proud to be involved in this initiative, and excited to help even more people into incredible careers as programmers.”
Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, said: “We are thrilled to have received this news. Working collaboratively with other institutes and employers is key, and the Government have recognised that this project will significantly influence skills development and innovation on both a regional and national basis.”
Tim Bowles, Regional Mayor commented: “This is fantastic news for our region. Our region’s new Institute of Future Technologies will attract more learners to higher education from under-represented groups in technical and higher education, addressing the emerging skills gaps in our economy. New learners will benefit from the technical skills and training programmes that will be provided by the institute – helping them into high skilled jobs in the West of England.”
