Up-and-coming jobseekers have been handed the chance to join a London-based academy to boost their skills and career opportunities in the technology industry.
The Chelsea Apps Factory today launched the Chelsea App Academy, which is designed to reduce the mobile skills gap that the industry is currently facing today.
The recruitment scheme is hoping to attract applications from people who have experience in technology, but have not entered higher education.
Mike Anderson, Chelsea Apps Factory’s CEO and founder, said: "The UK is a hotbed of technological talent. We easily match Israel, the United States and our European neighbours in terms of ability, ingenuity and inspiration."
"However, mobile software development is an area that is lacking in skills – mainly because the industry is so new. The market is barely five years old. It means that many people coming out of University are set up for a PC – not a mobile – world. So, like our business, the App Academy is designed with mobile in mind. We want to help people adapt their skills so we get the best out of the talent out there."
The Chelsea Apps Factory says twelve individuals will be selected based on their ability and potential, following a series of aptitude and awareness tests.
The successful candidates will then receive a year-long placement in the company’s London, Edinburgh or Belfast Tech Hubs. At the end of the 12-month programme, assuming the candidates have hit their key targets, they will be hired permanently by the firm.
Greg Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, says giving young people their first experience in the workplace is necessary in delivering a healthy and stable economy.
He said: "Technology is an industry in which Britain has always taken a leading role in the world, and is fast becoming one of the bedrock industries in the modern UK economy. Chelsea Apps Factory is one of the tech industry’s great success stories and I’m proud to represent it in my constituency."
He also said: "I’m especially pleased that with this new scheme the Chelsea Apps Factory team will be helping not only our bright young graduates get on the career ladder, but that they will also be encouraging people without a higher-education qualification to apply. This means that there are opportunities here for talented and gifted people, regardless of their educational history."
