Programmes

Want to get back to your career in tech but not sure which route to take? Our tailored support and free return to tech programme is designed to refresh your technical skills, rebuild your confidence and reignite your career. We do this through partnerships with inclusive businesses which help us connect talented individuals like you with progressive companies to create richly diverse workplaces.

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Our tech coach James talking us through a section of code built on our return to tech programme
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Our tech coach James talking us through a section of code built on our return to tech programme
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Our tech coach James talking us through a section of code built on our return to tech programme
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"The Tech Returners programme let me know that I still have a chance. It gave me a safe place to grow personally and technically and restore my confidence in myself and my abilities."

How it works

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Programme in action
a selection of returner who have completed our return to tech programme chatting to businesses at our 'hire fair' event.

Taken a break from coding?

Life doesn’t happen in a straight line and nor do careers. Our award-winning Tech Returners programme is free and available to anyone that has worked as a software engineer or developer, taken a career break (for any reason!) and is now ready to return to technology.

Together we transform your potential.

Apply for the programme

We run programmes every seven weeks, focusing on Fundamentals, Frontend and/or Backend technologies. All our teaching is delivered remotely and includes additional one to one support from coaches. Importantly, through our return to tech programme, we refresh more than just your technical capabilities by providing career and mindset support throughout.

Reignite your career

We understand that getting a job is important. We partner with progressive businesses that value your expertise and actively want to hire diverse, skilled talent. Upon completion of the programme we have several methods to support you to find a job and embark on the next part of your career journey.

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JavaScript

JavaScript and TypeScript (backend) programme - GDS

Are you an experienced software engineer looking to re-enter the industry, but unsure of where to start?

Our backend JavaScript and TypeScript 9-week course in partnership with our hiring partner, Government Digital Service (GDS), is the perfect avenue to get you back to a job in tech and back to feeling confident. It’s completely free and you’re guaranteed a job interview with GDS upon completion!

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%

increase in confidence post-programme

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+

women embarked on a confident digital leadership so far in 2023!

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%

of Tech Returners are women!

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Are you a business looking to hire diverse talent?

FAQs

Tech Returners run programmes which refresh your skills in any of the following languages: Java, C#.net, TypeScript, JavaScript, Scala and Platform Engineering (Cloud Engineering/DevOps) with AWS, Azure or GCP. However, if you’re interested in a different type of language, please let us know by getting in touch.

 

 

Our Department for Education funded programmes run for 13 weeks.

Our corporate funded programmes last between 8 to 12 weeks dependent on tech stack and hiring needs.

We know that life happens differently for everyone. We have had previous Returners who took a 6 month career break and Returners with more than 10 years away from the industry. So, rest assured we know people will come in at different levels of ability and different levels of confidence. We believe that if committed, both are more than capable of completing the programme! We only have a minimum career break length of 6 months to ensure that you are part of the ‘Returner’ demographic.

During our programmes we encourage you to dedicate as much of your time and energy to the experience as is possible. However, we recognise that everyone has responsibilities and bills to pay. That is why non-tech related roles, either part-time or arranged around the programme, which still allow for your attendance to the programme are acceptable. During the programme we do not agree for you to actively seek or interview for other tech-related roles as the course requires commitment and we have limited places available.

Everyone has unique circumstances and sometimes life happens in the most unexpected way. We always encourage our Returners to be open and honest with our team so that if you require a leave of absence or something unpredictable occurs, we are able to offer you the best support possible. We also recommend making your team aware of any pre-booked holidays before starting the programme. Everyone at Tech Returners always does their best to consider the individual while making decisions and may be able to take an alternative approach if required.

You do not get paid to participate in our programmes, nor are you required to fund any part of the course either.

Tech Returners is an inclusive company, with parents making up many members of our team. We try to be as supportive of parental responsibilities and run our sessions between 10am – 3pm to allow time for school drop-off and pick-ups. We also build non-teaching weeks into our programmes which are based around school breaks and holidays.

We offer courses throughout the year, and they are completely free, thanks to generous funding from the Department for Education and partnerships with UK and global businesses. To keep our programmes free of cost, there are specific eligibility criteria you need to meet. Please note that these criteria vary for courses funded by the Department for Education and those funded by our Hiring Partners.

Department for Education funded courses: Eligibility Criteria

  • You will need experience of a role in software engineering with hands-on coding, preferably in JavaScript or related technologies.
  • To have had a career break of at least 6 months and be committed to returning to technology via the Tech Returners programme.
  • You must not have already participated in a funded Skills Bootcamp since 1st April 2023.
  • There can’t be significant overlap between the course curriculum and previous formal education you may have recently completed.
  • Meet the residency requirements for this funding- you can find out more details here, or speak to us if you’re unsure whether or not you meet them. Usually this means you need to have been resident in the UK for the last three years.
  • You must reside in England to qualify for this programme and have an appropriate right-to-work in the UK (You will be asked to submit your passport, visa or share code evidence during the application process).
  • You must have a National Insurance number.
  • You will need to take ownership and have the curiosity to work on different projects collaboratively and independently.

Corporate funded programmes: Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for our corporate programmes, funded by our hiring partners in collaboration with UK and global businesses, vary based on each partner. This may include some standard requirements like having a National Insurance number or having lived in the UK for 3 years for example. Please note that these requirements can be strict or lenient depending on each hiring partner.

Rest assured, the eligibility criteria will be clearly stated on the course information for each programme to ensure you don’t miss out.

A photo collage of some of the amazing returners that have completed our return to tech programme
A photo collage of some of the amazing returners that have completed our return to tech programme
A photo collage of some of the amazing returners that have completed our return to tech programme

Hear from Returners

Our Returners are a diverse and inspiring group of people with different backgrounds and stories. Learn about their experiences of the programme and why they decided to return to tech. Plus, find out where they are now in their technology career!

Partners

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Register interest

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