Digital training specialist, Code Nation officially launched its new Chester-based coding academy, located at Vivio HQ, on Friday 31st May. Local MP, Chris Matheson, unveiled the new campus, which is set to make a huge impact on addressing the digital skills shortage in Chester and throughout the UK.
Over a hundred students have already passed through the new Code Nation site with hundreds more to follow throughout the year. The opening of its second campus comes after the announcement of a partnership and significant investment from Chester-based business, Vivio, an award-winning independent business telecoms and IT service provider.
With the exponential growth of its University and Colleges, Chester is fast becoming an educational hub. Fiercely aware of the benefits of this kind of education and a future that will require a new type of workforce, City of Chester, MP, Chris Matheson, showed his support by officially opening Code Nation’s Chester campus, where he met staff, students and guests.
As a leading provider of mobile telecoms, cloud telephony and unified communications solutions to businesses nationwide Vivio is committed to continually developing its own digital expertise to support its clients’ needs. The introduction of 5G, in addition to the growth of IoT, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence offers significant opportunities to businesses across all sectors.
As part of Vivio’s commitment to developing its digital expertise, and in addition to its investment, Vivio has begun offering a scholarship scheme with Code Nation for students on a range of courses to kickstart their careers in the digital sector. The move means that Vivio continue to be leaders in developing junior talent to ensure constant evolvement and improvement on their award-winning client experience.
In addition to this, Code Nation’s flagship school, Spring Gardens in Manchester city centre, recently made the move into a larger space, providing four classrooms and extensive break out areas, thanks to Vivio’s investment. Both sites form part of ambitious role out plans for the business, which plans to open further campuses throughout the UK in the coming years. Each site will target areas where technology and quality, qualified staff are in high demand.
The figures speak for themselves when it comes to the opportunity that Code Nation is giving Chester and surrounding areas. 89% of students who enrol on a Code Nation course have never coded before and over 90% are employed on completing the boot camp.
David Muir, Founder and Chair of Code Nation comments: “Through our partners at Vivio, we have been able to secure a great space in the heart of Chester, giving students and employers access to the very best digital skills.
“We are pinpointing key areas for growth throughout the UK and Chester came out on top in a recent IPPR report highlighting key areas of demand for tech outside of London. So, where better to set up our next campus?”
Code Nation, Chester, provides a range of innovative training courses, including the Master course; made up of 10 weeks of education and a two-week project, as well as a range of different length courses and apprenticeships, with bursaries and scholarships also available.
Learning to code is often compared to learning another language. At Code Nation, in addition to learning incredible digital skills in a relatively short period of time, Code Nation also encourages and helps students to improve their team work, as well as communication and general business skills, instilling the importance of simple things like mindfulness and the importance of nutrition.
