Tameside’s young people are ‘coded for success’

Tameside Council, Tameside College and a range of businesses from across the north-west joined forces to host the third annual ‘Tameside Hack’.

The competition, which took place in Tameside College’s Advanced Technologies Centre over the spring half-term break, brought together teams of young coders from schools and colleges around the borough. The teams were asked to design a website, app or program, with prizes for the winning teams.

The Tameside Hack is just one of the ways that the council and college are working to increase digital skills and the number of girls taking up employment in the sector, with 500,000 new employees needed to fill digital roles by 2022 in the UK.

Dave Berry, employment and skills lead at Tameside Council, wants to make Tameside a hub for digital enterprises:

“The hack is a great way to increase the involvement of young people in coding, programming and web design. We have had a great turn out this year and our sponsors and the Tameside College are helping us to make great strides in creating an exciting buzz around technology in Tameside.”

With sponsorship from businesses such as Brother UK, Avecto, Purple WIFI and Willmott Dixon, the Tameside hack aims to become the channel through which young people interested in coding in Tameside can find work experience, gather new ideas and highlight their skill sets to employers.

Jackie Moores, principal of Tameside College, said:

“We’re immensely proud to be involved with the Tameside Hack again this year. It fits in really well with our strategy to increase the skills of young people in Tameside and to equip them for a future where coding is the new norm. I’d like to congratulate all those who took part and thank everyone that was involved.”

Bethan Stanley, computing student at Tameside College who took part in the hack, said:

“This is the second time I’ve attended the Tameside Hack. It’s a fantastic way to gain experience for your CV and university applications. It’s also run by highly experienced industry professionals so you learn a lot by working with them. Using them as a guide can greatly improve your knowledge.”