CCCG Becomes First to Offer Tuition-Free Coding Courses in the UK With Guaranteed Jobs

Capital City College Group (@capitalcitycg) has teamed up with Founders Forum to launch the first tuition-free coding school in the UK to improve diversity in tech and bridge the digital skills gap. 01 Founders is an innovative free coding school that is unusual because it does not feature teachers. Instead, students will be taught by 01 Edu software, solving gamified projects at their own pace while learning from their peers.

Students completing the two-year course will also be guaranteed a job at the end of the course as part of 01 Founders’ commitment to train 100,000 software engineers by 2030. 01 Founders is now accepting applications for its first London cohort of 250 students to start in October 2021.

CCCG is London’s largest college group and comprises City and Islington College, Westminster Kingsway College, the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London and Capital CIty College Training. Roy O’Shaughnessy, CEO of CCCG, said:

“Capital City College Group is delighted to be a partner in this exciting new educational venture – a first for the UK.

“We were the pioneers of free further education courses in London and 01 Founders’ new coding school takes this concept to the next level. It will give anyone, regardless of their background, previous experience, or educational level the key coding and digital skills they will need to transform their career chances and their lives. The school is a real innovation in education and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”

01 Founders was co-founded by Brent Hobermann, the face behind online brands including lastminute.com and Made.com, and is backed by entrepreneurs, tech firms and educationalists.

The course is powered by 01 Edu, an internationally acclaimed pedagogy co-founded by Nicolas Sadiric, which has built similar coding schools with an alumni of more than 25,000 globally. Students complete core coding training for 18 months and then choose a specialism for the final six months from game development, artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

Joysy John, CEO of 01 Founders:

“We believe that digital skills give you the ability to shape the world around you. But, for too long, women, ethnic minorities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds have been underrepresented in technology. 01 Founders is starting a nationwide movement that removes the barriers to job-ready technical training. It’s a coding school for ambitious individuals from every background, regardless of experience.”

Students are pre-selected based on a short cognitive test followed by a month-long selection process over the summer. Applicants must be over 18 by 1 September 2021. No previous experience or academic qualifications are required.