In the past few decades, one industry that has been growing exponentially is the Information Technology (IT) industry. Unlike several other industries that have seen turbulent times, the IT industry has been constantly meeting the expectations of the industry veterans and trade bodies. One of the key reasons behind this rapid growth is the technically skilled manpower. Thus, the demand for a highly skilled workforce in the IT sector is increasing with this extensive growth.
Back in 2013, Marcin Tchórzewski (CEO and Founder of Coders Lab) noticed this progressive gap. Being a graduate of state schools and universities, he knew the shortcomings of the traditional model of education. Moreover, after observing the formation of the first bootcamps in the USA, Marcin was convinced that the educational model they propose is groundbreaking and will work well in North America as well as around the world. Consequently, with his brother Jacek Tchórzewski, Marcin proposed a modern formula of IT training and founded Coders Lab. Started in Poland, Coders Lab today operates in Romania, Austria, and Indonesia.
Extensive Portfolio of Courses
Coders Lab aims to position itself as an IT school rather than a typical bootcamp. It offers a plethora of courses including a Front End – JavaScript React programming course, four back-end courses – Python, Java, PHP, & .NET, a manual and automated tester course, Digital UX, and Python – Data Analysis Training. Coders Lab has one of the richest offers in the market, due to which its franchisees can flexibly respond to the market demand.
Besides programming courses, Coders Lab also provides students with access to proprietary programs supporting the job search process – Career Lab, Portfolio Lab, and Scrum Lab. As part of these programs, students learn how to prepare a CV, create attractive profiles on LinkedIn and other professional platforms, and how to perform well in a job interview.
As the Warsaw, Poland-based vocational IT school was established with an aim to show students a faster path to enter the IT industry as programmers or testers, courses at Coders Lab are predominantly based on problem-solving and practical problems. Additionally, it supports students in finding their first jobs as well. Thus, a majority of the 6.5 thousand graduates from the Coders Lab have found a job in the IT industry within three months after completing the course.
Facilitating the Franchisees
Coders Lab franchisees receive a ready-made package of educational materials and IT management tools to quickly and efficiently start their business. The franchise partners can freely shape their offers, choosing courses according to the needs of their market. They do not have to worry about the topicality of the materials as the educational team of Coders Lab implements updates several times a year – so that the materials are in line with the current trends in programming.
The franchisees get access to a proprietary Learning Management System – which facilitates the monitoring of the learning process, and to the HUB course organization system – a useful management tool. Coders Lab also provides its partners with a ready-made website with a Content Management System. They are free to configure the website to suit local communication standards.
Alongside this, Coders Lab also provides a marketing starter pack that includes sample advertising materials and social media posts. The franchisees also get an implementation training package as well as support at subsequent stages of business. “We do everything to ensure that the franchise owners have a smooth entry into the industry and the highest possible chances of success. They are additionally raised by our global brand, on which our franchisees can leverage exclusively and countrywide,” says Marcin.
Refining the Tools
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the educational service providers had to realize that the digitization of education and its online availability is crucial to staying in the business. On the other hand, several customers also noticed the advantages and comfort offered by remote education. The lockdown generated plenty of free time for people, which they could potentially spend on education and improving their skills and knowledge. “This is a promising environment for educational companies – they just need to be able to reach these customers and convince them that here and now is the right time to invest in raising their skills,” adds Marcin.
However, despite the opportunities, the pandemic also brought a lot of uncertainty as several people gave up investment in improving their own qualifications due to the fear for their financial stability. Thus, it is a challenge to convince these people that such times are perfect to acquire digital skills. Moreover, another challenge was to provide students with the greatest possible comfort to distance learning. For this, specialists at Coders Lab are constantly refining tools that make programming education more effective and comfortable.
Education for the Future
Marcin believes that education, particularly vocational education, should respond to the current trends in the labor market as they are expected to have a great impact on the market. The development of artificial intelligence and similar technical solutions has confronted numerous uncertainties about what the future of the labor market would look like.
According to research, almost half of today’s jobs will disappear as a result of technological changes in the near future. Moreover, a majority of children who are entering the educational path will work in professions that do not exist yet. Thus, it is difficult to forecast the jobs that will be in-demand in a decade or two. However, almost every profession will require a growing piece of digital skills to be performed. Sharing this belief, Coders Lab strives to offer education for the future – today.
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