Teaching Coding, Tech Skills Gaps, Getting Investment and Favourite Apps: Ben Atha, The Developer Academy

Ben Atha founded The Developer Academy after realising other routes to getting a role as a developer exclude some people.

In today's radio show Ben covered:

- What do we mean by "coding" and what work is open to coders who have learned CSS, Python, PHP, C# or other languages?
- Why Ben learned to become a developer himself.
- The crucial importance - and demand from the industry - of soft skills.
- Why you don't have to get a computer science degree - or attend a £6000 bootcamp - to land a developer job.
-  How The Developer Academy's model, fusing flexible online learning with face-to-face meetings, works around people's existing commitments.
- Ben's observations on diversity and equal opportunities in the tech industry.
- The Sheffield tech scene: is there a skills shortages of coders and data scientists? And which languages are most in demand now?
- What about the future? How will AI affect the tech industry?
- Why Ben's business is located in Kollider, which alongside co-working, office and incubation space, has an investment fund - and has invested in The Developer Academy.
- How to choose an investor and why Ben accepted a £5000 investment in return for a 15% stake in his business.
- The value of a great business advisor who ripped Ben's original business plan apart (but is now an investor in the business).
- The free project management and communication apps Ben finds most valuable to run the business, saving huge amounts of time.

The show is crammed with tech and business insights from Ben - enjoy it!