Programmes

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.