FinTech Wales Meets with Chwarae Teg to discuss the Code First Girls Programme

Recently our Head of Skills, Gemma Hallett, sat down with Cerys Furlong, CEO of Chwarae Teg, to discuss an exclusive employment opportunity for FinTech Wales’ members through their New Futures project. 

Chwarae Teg is a UK-based charity inspiring, leading and delivering gender equality in Wales, with a mission to Create a fairer Wales for women to achieve and prosper.

In action, this means Chwarae Teg work to ensure more inclusive work environments and encourage women into sectors and careers that they’re traditionally under-represented in. 

What is the New Futures project? 

The New Futures project addresses the under-repesentation of women specifically in tech and digital roles across the FinTech sector. 

Despite progress in recent years, women still remain critically underrepresented in the tech roles, as is highlighted in PwC’s Women in Tech Research Report: “according to WISE*, just 23% of the people working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) roles across the UK are female – and only 5% of leadership positions in the technology industry are held by women*.”

To address this, FinTech Wales and Chwarae Teg have partnered with the Code First Girls Programme, which will see 10 fully-funded women candidates go through a 14 week academy to achieve micro-degrees in Software, Data and Full-stack. 

How are the programme participants supported? 

Chwarae Teg’s strengths lie in their extensive coaching experience, supporting women to improve their confidence and unlock their full career potential. 

They are also able to assist with childcare and transportation costs, to help remove some of the barriers women frequently face when choosing to upskill. 

Whilst FinTech Wales will work closely with leading Welsh organisations within their membership, to ensure the candidates are matched to the right jobs and employers at the end of the programme. 

How can FinTech Wales members take part? 

Members who are keen to take part in this initiative and would like access to recruit one or more of the first 10 graduates should contact us as soon as possible with job descriptions, as we’ll be finalising the training programme by the end of October. 

Contact us today at: [email protected] 

When do the interviews start? 

FinTech Wales’ members will interview the Code First Girls cohort in January 2023, to secure talent before the programme begins. 

When does the programme finish? 

The Code First Girls micro-degree finishes in June 2023, at which point the cohort will join you full-time. 

What are salary expectations for graduates? 

There are no specific salary prerequisites. Employers are free to set their own entry-level wages.

Get in touch: 

If you’d like to get involved with our Code First Girls Programme and share your job opportunities, please contact [email protected] 

Click here to read more about our Head of Skills, Gemma Hallett, and her mission to address the FinTech skills gap in Wales.  

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References: 

*https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/statistics/women-in-stem-workforce-2017/  *https://techcrunch.com/2016/05/10/the-lack-of-women-in-tech-is-more-than-a-pipeline-problem/