St. Louis-based coding bootcamp LaunchCode is launching next month in Charlotte to help give career access to the next wave of potential tech talent.
LaunchCode, founded in 2013 by Square co-founder and CEO Jim McKelvey, provides free education and job opportunities to help people launch a career in technology through its immersive CodeCamp.
Benjamin Kitchens, training program manager for LaunchCode, said McKelvey created the organization at the time because of a lack of access to tech careers in the St. Louis region.
"He saw there needed to be more ways for people to get into tech careers because the city didn’t have enough people trained in these areas to keep tech companies there," Kitchens said. "We strongly believe that anyone with the passion and drive to succeed in a tech career should be given the opportunity to do so."
LaunchCode, which also operates in Kansas City and Philadelphia, is now bringing its CodeCamp to Charlotte in an effort to expand and diversify the region's pool of available tech talent. Kitchens said the organization chose Charlotte because of high demand for entry-level talent by two of its largest employer partners, Centene and Charter.
"We decided now was a really good time to begin operations in Charlotte and start creating a pipeline of talent in that city," he said. "Charlotte falls in line with the other cities (where) we’re launching that are growing and have this need for tech talent that we are very much poised to fill."
The boot camp is a 14-week, full-time virtual course. Kitchens said they're looking to fill 30 spots. Students will participate in instructor lectures as well as smaller sessions led by a teaching assistant for more one-on-one support and group engagement. At the end of the course, students are eligible for LaunchCode's apprenticeship program to help hone their skills and secure job placement.
Applications for CodeCamp Charlotte are open through Nov. 7. Those accepted will hear back by Nov. 12. The camp runs from Nov. 28 to March 18 with a weeklong break over the Christmas holiday.
Kitchens said part of the organization's mission is to provide access in a diverse way. Each pool of students will reflect the demographics of its city and include women and BIPOC applicants.
"Diversity is a big part of our mission given that our focus is on accessibility to tech careers. We keep careful tabs on the demographics of our applicants," he said. "Charlotte falls a lot in line with our other markets in that we see the population will benefit, and the companies there are demanding this level of talent."
