Sheffield-based Developer Academy set for expansion following help from Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

The academy hopes to use the loan in order to help businesses in the digital sector overcome the abundance of software engineering vacancies in the region.

The loan was secured from Finance For Enterprise.

Jeremy Meadowcroft, business lending manager at Finance For Enterprise, said: “The academy has developed a fairly unique business model, which not only helps to give individuals across the region the chance to build careers in a rapidly growing industry sector, but also helps businesses to overcome the skills shortages they are facing.

“The investment means that more people will be able to benefit from The Developer Academy’s work, and that can only be a win-win for the region.”

Ben Atha launched The Developer Academy in 2019 after realising that many businesses across the region were struggling to find suitable candidates to fill computer programming vacancies, and has now helped over 300 individuals build careers in software programming and app development.

The Developer Academy delivers a range of courses on behalf of the Department for Education, Sheffield City Council and Sheffield College, as well as teaching privately funded students.

Mr Athea noted his desire to use The Developer Academy to offer coding careers to a wider variety of people.

“There are many opportunities to build successful careers in the digital sector, and I wanted to help break down the barriers to give people with an interest in computing a chance to pursue careers in the sector.” he said.

“There is a common misconception that to be a good coder, you must have had an interest in computing for many years, or a have a degree in quantum physics, but in reality, coding is built around solving problems.”