Saarah’s volunteer story: personal growth and development

Saarah's photo

From KPIs to passion Saarah learned about CYF through her employer, Ernst & Young. As part of her individual KPIs and corporate social responsibility, she joined a volunteering initiative at Ernst & Young. She joined as a coding volunteer, but soon found her passion in personal development and became a PD volunteer. Reflecting on her own challenges to inspire others … Read More

Douglas’ trainee story: from manual labour to a career in tech

Before CodeYourFuture, Douglas worked in manual labour. “A typical day involved waking up at 5am to start work at 7am”, he says. “When covid hit in 2020, we could not work for 4 months, I considered the idea of finding an alternative career.” “I’ve always wanted to know what is going on behind the scenes of websites.” explains Douglas, “I … Read More

Colette’s trainee story: coming back to her passion

Colette grew up in a poverty-stricken housing development in Linwood in the 1980s. The area was rundown and desolate – “It was not a healthy environment to grow up in”, she says.   Colette only discovered in adulthood that she had dyslexia. As a result of this learning difficulty and the challenges that came with her circumstances, she didn’t receive any secondary … Read More

Volunteer Stories: Nadia

Hey everyone, I’m Nadia Zhuk, a full-stack software engineer currently working at Intercom and living in London. I’m happy to share my impressions as a new volunteer at Code Your Future. Discovering volunteering with CYF I had done little volunteering before joining Code Your Future, but I’d been interested in giving back to the community for a while. I didn’t know anyone in … Read More

Volunteer Story: Aghogho

Aghogho photo

Aghogho’s desire to give back to the best of her ability stems from her background as a Welsh-British immigrant from Nigeria. “I witnessed the financial and emotional struggle of my parents”, she says, recalling “their tenacity over the years to secure the necessary papers and jobs to give myself and my siblings a better future.”  She heard about CYF volunteering … Read More

Student Story: Omolola

CodeYourFuture (CYF) trains refugees and people who have financial, social or other challenges in coding. The program is free and helps graduates secure meaningful work in tech. CYF alumni Omolola shares how her lack of experience did not stop her from launching her career in IT. Making ‘IT’ work While Omolola knew that she wanted to work in the exciting … Read More

Our Leadership Program: Hinde’s Journey From Engineer To Manager

Hinde presenting using a whiteboard and post-it notes

CodeYourFuture (CYF) trains people from underprivileged backgrounds in coding and employability skills, and helps them find good jobs in the tech industry. While developing our trainees’ technical – or ‘hard’ – skills is a big part of what we do, we also foster their professional development through ‘soft’ skills like problem-solving, teamwork, making decisions and managing people. Our experience connecting … Read More

Student Story: Mursel

Mursel is a refugee. He was a lawyer before he came to the UK. When he arrived, he had no idea what to do. He was unemployed and lacked finances so he considered his options. Mursel decided to try to change career. “I wanted to find a meaningful job and prepare a good future for my family,” says Mursel. He … Read More

Our New Leadership Program: Daniel’s Journey From Trainee To Leader

CodeYourFuture (CYF) trains people from underprivileged backgrounds in coding and employability skills, and then helps them find good jobs in the tech industry. We’re passionate about developing people’s technical skills, but we’re also very aware that soft skills like leadership, decision making, and people management are just as important for employment.  Recently, we have created a new and unique program, … Read More

Student Story: Erick

Once Erick discovered that coding was behind websites and apps, he knew he wanted to be a coder. Erick discovered coding at The African Leadership Academy, a high school in South Africa that helps Africans who have the potential to catalyze positive change on the continent.     He loved apps and technology, but he never knew what brought them to … Read More