Northcoders opens permanent base in Leeds

Northcoders, the UK’s leading coding bootcamp for graduate outcomes, has launched a brand new campus in Leeds city centre.

Northcoders was established in Manchester back in 2015 and its very first course launched a year later. Since then it has trained nearly 300 people via 23 cohorts. In the past year, on average 96% of students from across all its courses have secured software developer job offers within fifteen days of graduating and on starting salaries of £25k. Its 80-plus hiring partners are spread across the North and include major names in the automotive, education, healthcare, fin-tech and transport sectors.

The new site is located at Platform - the city’s newest tech community, created by leading property company Bruntwood, which is adjacent to Leeds train station. A team of dedicated teaching and support staff will work across both the Leeds and Manchester campuses.

The main course being offered in Leeds is Northcoders’ 12-week, full-time flagship Coding Bootcamp programme which has been devised for career changers. It starts on Monday 25th February. Over the years, Northcoders has helped all types of people switch their careers into tech including delivery drivers, customer service advisers, property managers, accountants, teachers, refugees, supermarket workers, warehouse operatives and social workers as well as mothers looking to return to work.

The comprehensive Coding Bootcamp course covers all of the key skills required to become a Software Developer and launch careers in the world's most popular and in-demand programming languages. The curriculum includes a deep-dive into programming, building APIs, working with databases, making accessible websites, front end frameworks and an introduction to UX and Dev Ops. All of this will lead up to a final two-week project where students will consolidate everything they’ve learned before graduating and being ready for employment.

As well as the Coding Bootcamp, Northcoders is also staging its two-evening Introduction to Programming course which will start on January 22nd. It has been especially created for absolute beginners and for anyone who is considering a possible career in coding. Introduction to Programming’s simple aim is to provide an accessible platform where people can explore if coding could be right for them via a mixture of short tutor-led sessions and project-based workshops.

Chris Hill – founder of Northcoders – said: “As a business, we have wanted to open a base in Leeds for a while but the timing and location had to be right. Leeds and the wider Yorkshire region has a dynamic and exciting tech community so we wanted to add to that mix by offering a first class coding bootcamp that taught the skills employers actually need.”

Chris added: A lot has been said about the Northern Powerhouse but for us it’s really just about creating better collaboration across the Pennines. We are so excited about opening in Leeds and our focus in now on delivering a calendar of world class courses that will deliver the coding stars of the future.”

Craig Burrow, Director Bruntwood - Leeds, said: “Software developing is one of the fastest growing industries in the UK and there is strong demand for coders across the world. Platform is home to a specialist Tech Incubator and we know well the dynamism in the digital sector – and the exciting career opportunities it offers. The availability of courses to help people gain the necessary skills serves an important purpose and we are pleased to be able to support Northcoders in their new venture.”

Over the past few months, Northcoders was selected as one of the country's brightest tech stars in Creative England's CE50 list and was named Business of the Year at the 15th Annual Chamber Business Awards.
Northcoders is now taking applications from anyone wishing to take part in its first ever bootcamp or taster session and is keen to here from employers in the Yorkshire area which are looking to build their coding expertise in-house (contact talent@northcoders.com).