As the demand for tech skills grows, so too are those deciding to change careers to take advantage of the higher-paid industry and its flexible working conditions.
Mission Ready is a tech boot camp that promises to get trainees to be work ready in as little as three months.
“We recognize that the tech industry is rapidly evolving, and so we needed a way to keep up with that, which means our programs are really short and fast-paced so you don’t need a degree,” said Mission Ready’s Diana Sharma.
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Its quick turnaround process is the biggest reason why people from all walks of life are choosing to enroll.
“It was a nine-week theoretical section, then you had your 10-week industry placement. But the funny thing is I didn’t even get to the industry placement because I ended up getting a job,” said Muryum Landi, a former primary school teacher.
She was drawn to the flexibility the technology industry offered, with the additional $30,000 on her former teaching salary an added bonus.
“I mean, pregnant at this moment, and it’s allowed me to have the flexibility that I wouldn’t have had before, working from home and being able to have control of my schedule, and it also allows me to have the professional growth, that I’m looking for,” she said.
“Figuring out what it is that I want my lifestyle to continue to evolve as I continue to grow my family,” she said
Industry experts say the new UX Designer’s part of a growing trend of people changing jobs.
“We’ve had people from a nursing background enter, business operations, even musicians and magicians really,” Sharma said
Seek’s Rob Clark: “So we’ve got some numbers around that if you look at the last six months, around one in seven have changed roles.”
With more jobs than they can fill, the industry is ready to gobble them up.
“We need more creativity, more diversity, more inclusion. It’s not lost on us that people from different skills and different professions can transfer their skills in IT,” said Midu Chandra.
The boot camp promises to provide around 600 new workers this year alone, in roles like software development and product design.
“It’s no surprise to anyone, there is a talent shortage in New Zealand, so anywhere you can get people to come in and work with you real-life experience shoulder to shoulder and actually see where they can go that’s amazing,” Chandra said.
Clark said: “We’ve captured it all, really intrigued, think its terrific, it’s a great way to try and get more candidates to apply into a particular sector when the total market is really short of candidates.”
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