Start your career in tech with CYF.

Do you want to change your career or your life, but face difficulties getting the skills you need? CodeYourFuture’s free technical and employability training is made for you.

Start your career in tech with CYF

Do you want to change your career or your life - but face difficulties getting the skills you need? CodeYourFuture’s free courses were made for you.

Who is CodeYourFuture for?

At CodeYourFuture, we believe everyone should have a chance to lead a thriving life.

Lots of people who join CodeYourFuture feel nervous or unsure about whether they can succeed in tech. The good news? Many of them have gone on to land great jobs after completing our courses.

Below are examples of the groups of people who have started tech careers after graduating CYF:

People on low income.
People who were unemployed for a long time or stuck in low wage jobs.
People who changed careers in their 30's and 40's.
People who have never coded before.
Women returning to the workplace.
Refugees and asylum seekers.
And many others - we have helped 300 people start tech careers.

If you face barriers to getting the skills you need to change your future, CodeYourFuture free training and employment support was created for you.

Why take a CodeYourFuture course?

Free, flexible and no experience needed

96% of students have little to no coding experience before starting.

Learn skills you need to get a good job

Learn the technical and employability skills that are in demand from the local job market.

1:1 personal support

A community of supportive professionals (including many CYF graduates) will help you - from your first day until you get a job.

The CYF pathway to starting a career in tech

1. Register for Intro to Digital

2. Complete Intro to Digital and gain access to the next course

3. Completing all courses relevant to your goals

4. Get support to get a job

The pathway to becoming a Software Developer

1. Register for Intro to Digital

2. Complete Intro to Digital and gain an interview for the next course

3. Graduate from CodeYourFuture by completing all courses

4. Get support to get a job and change your life

The Intro to Digital course

The Intro to Digital Course

Your first step on a journey into a tech career.

In the Intro to Digital course you will learn and practice GenAI, data analysis and basic programming. You will also build and deploy websites to the cloud.

Self-paced online course
20-40 hours
Workshops and online support.

Learn more & Apply

Intro to Programming

Programming with JavaScript, Python and SQL, collaborate delivering working software with tests.

12 weeks part-time.
Hybrid: 1 weekend day class and weekly coursework.
Track for entry-level jobs in tech
You can apply for personal and financial support.

The Piscine

Piscine

Preparation and assessment for the Software Development Course.

3 weeks part-time
Hybrid: 1 weekend day class and weekly coursework
You can apply for personal and financial support

The Software Development course

The Software Development Course

Learn the advanced programming and soft skills needed to work in software development.

12 weeks part-time
Hybrid: 1 weekend day class and weekly coursework
You can apply for personal and financial support
Optional extra tracks

Learn more

Learn more about the Software Development Course

To see the full programme schedule showing Intro to Digital, Intro to Programming and our other 2025 courses, click here (Google Sheet).

Meet graduates of our Software Development Course

Vitalina

Vitalina wanted to change careers. She began learning programming on her own before learning about CodeYourFuture. Now she works as a software developer.

Read Vitalina's story

Deago

Deago was on state welfare, losing the will to continue. He had minimal coding experience but hoped to be come a software engineer. After CYF, he was able to start his tech career.

Read Deago's story

Ryno

Ryno struggled to find employment security and worked various jobs. He worried about his lack of technical experience when he applied to CYF. He now works as a software developer.

Read Ryno's story

Jaspreet

Jaspreet worked full-time in a warehouse before CYF. As a dedicated mother, balancing her family life with CYF was a challenge. With support, she succeeded and now works as an analyst.

Read Jaspreet's story

Frequently Asked Questions

If you face barriers to starting a career in tech, we recommend you just start the Intro to Digital course.

We don't have a single number representing low income for ITD and ITP.

At CodeYourFuture, we know that everyone's circumstance is unique.

We don't have a simple single number that accurately defines low income in the UK or South Africa.

We want our programmes to be inclusive and fair.

That is why we say that if you believe you face any barriers to getting into tech, you are welcome to take the Intro to Digital Course. The same applies to the Intro to Programming Course.

Why should I complete the ITD Course?

By completing the ITD course, you can significantly enhance your employment prospects. This is because the ITD Course equips you with basic programming skills (variables, loops, control flow), improves your CV and helps you deploy a website in the cloud. These are all important steps in progressing into a tech career.

If you believe you are on a low income and have completed the Intro to Digital programme, you are welcome to continue with the Intro to Programming (ITP).

Will you check eligibility at any point at CYF?

Yes. If you complete the Intro to Programming (ITP) Course and aspire to join our Software Development Programme, we will assess your eligibility during the Piscine.

CYF will check your eligibility around low-income using a bespoke method.

To progress past Intro to Programming, your income eligibility will be calculated in relation to your household income size and your dependents.

Eligibility

Are you over 18?
Do you live within 90 minutes on public transport of:
- Sheffield, UK
- Glasgow, UK
- Manchester, UK
- Birmingham, UK
- Cape Town, ZA
Or you can easily and regularly get to London on Saturdays
Are you on a low income?
And do you want to change your life with a career in tech?

Suitability

And have you experienced one or more of the following:

Refuge/Asylum
Forced Migration
Disability
Prison
Long term unemployment
Homelessness
Single parenthood
Social care
Poverty

Then you are welcome at Code Your Future.

If you are uncertain about your eligibility, we suggest you start the course and email us at contact@codeyourfuture.io. We try to help everyone facing barriers to learning the skills they need to get a good job.

You will need a laptop or computer for the Intro to Digital course.

There are many ways you can get access to a laptop or computer. Graduates of our programme have done the following to get access to a laptop or computer.

Use a computer in a local library:

All UK public libraries have computers for public use. In England and Wales: Book internet access in your local library (This is popular, so you should book in advance.).
For Scotland: Find your local library
For Cape Town: There are 101 libraries with computers / work stations (please check if you need to book).

Use another free computer centre:

The Digital Inclusion Project in the UK is a network of online centres that are free for everyone to use.1. Consider borrowing a computer from a friend or a relative.

Buy a computer or find a non-profit that can give you a computer for free:

You can buy a computer in the UK at prices starting from around £200. You can find the specifications for a suitable laptop or computer for CodeYourFuture ITD here.
Here is a list of profit organisations that could provide a laptop in the UK, there may be others near you - search the internet or ask around.
If you know of a non-profit that provides free laptops in Cape Town - please let us know!

Trainees can apply to have expenses covered in the following courses (with agreement):

Intro to Programming course
Piscine
Software Development course

Once you enrol as trainee during the first Module of Introduction to Programming, you can also loan a laptop, if you need it.

If you cannot come to class, we can pay for the following on class dates:

Transport. A maximum of 1.5 hours travel time (except in London, where there is a cost rather than a time limit - see below).
Lunch.
Childcare from a registered provider. CYF can pay up to 10 hours on the weekend and up to 15 hours during the week.

To qualify for any financial support, you must

be able to easily and regularly get to London* on Saturdays or
live within 90 minutes of the cities listed below:
- Sheffield, UK
- Glasgow, UK
- Manchester, UK
- Birmingham, UK
- Cape Town, ZA

*Transport costs for London are capped to £20 per Saturday / class day.

Please note:

These expenses don't count as income if you are claiming benefits.
You must pay the expenses first, and CodeYourFuture will reimburse you in your bank account. We cannot refund your expenses into the bank account of a friend or family member.

All of our courses are in English.

The ITD Course does not have an English requirement. At the end of ITD course, you will be able to check your English to see if you can progress.

We use the CEFR system to grade English levels from the Intro to Programming course onwards.

To join Introduction to Programming, you must have B2 English level.

You can read this document on how we define a good level of English for the various courses we offer.

The Software Development Programme is 12 weeks, part-time.

The Software Development Programme (SDC) has shifted focus from traditional web development to prioritising systems engineering, infrastructure, and operations.

This involves challenging participants with more complex tasks in areas such as systems work, Linux, troubleshooting, data structures, and algorithms. Regular demonstrations allow participants to showcase their progress to the community, while the integration of existing systems courses provides additional learning opportunities.

The ultimate goal is to cultivate critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will help you stand out as a developer.

CodeYourFuture's Intro to Programming course is a comprehensive, self-paced program designed to equip you with essential programming skills.

This course will give you a solid foundation in programming, preparing you for further learning and real-world projects.

The course is 12 weeks like, with the potential for extra tracks.

The course divided into 4 modules, each containing 3 sprints.

By the end of the course, you'll be able to:

Predict and explain program execution
Refactor code based on new requirements
Write composable functions
Turn business requirements into test cases
Design applications based on user stories
Work with datasets
Verify web application accessibility
Understand processes and file descriptors
Use GitHub effectively, including pull requests

And you'll also achieve Codewars level 5!

To see the full ITP curriculum, visit https://programming.codeyourfuture.io/

CodeYourFuture's Piscine is an intensive 22-day assessment course designed for trainees who have completed the Intro to Programming (ITP) and wish to join the Software Development Course (SDC).

By completing the Piscine, you'll gain hands-on experience in project development, teamwork, and independent coding. You'll also improve your ability to articulate technical concepts, a crucial skill in the tech industry.

Here's what you'll encounter:

During the Piscine, you'll work on three projects: two group projects and one solo project.

For each project, your tasks will be to:

Build a complete project that meets all requirements, including tests
Develop a thorough understanding of all the code in your project, as you'll need to explain it

The Piscine aims to identify candidates ready to train as professional software engineers. The program assesses your ability to:

Collaborate in a team to build working software with tests
Write simple code independently
Clearly explain your work in English

These core goals reflect the skills needed for success in the CYF Software Development Course and as a future software engineer.

This course serves as a bridge between your initial programming knowledge and the more advanced training in the Software Development Course, helping you and CodeYourFuture determine your readiness for the next step in your tech career.

To see the full Piscine curriculum: https://piscine.codeyourfuture.io/