Why the best clubs are code clubs

Michelle Slee, Agile delivery manager at DVLA and Alice Genevois, senior data science manager at Lloyds Banking Group, two winners from last year's Women in Technology Excellence Awards, discuss the importance of coding clubs to bring people together and grow skill sets

Even before Covid-19 reduced our worlds to the size of a laptop or phone screen for months on end, one of the factors holding back digital transformation in the UK was a shortage of the relevant skills - particularly those in software engineering and native cloud.

As we emerge from the worst of the pandemic it is abundantly clear that one of its many far-reaching effects has been to drastically increase the pace of digitisation. Change that would have unfolded over the course of years has been concentrated into a period of weeks as organisations of all kinds adapted to be able to continue operating under lockdown conditions.

This process has shone an unforgiving light on the digital skills gap - a gap we're going to need to close if the economy is going to do anything other than crawl painfully out of its present dormant state. Software development is an area experiencing big shortfalls in skills. It's also one of the areas of technology that has a distinctly male reputation. In addition to the gender stereotyping, coders are typically portrayed as nerdy, uncool and socially awkward. However, with starting salaries in the UK anywhere between the £25k and £35k mark, the coders are having the last laugh.

Many coders are self-taught. Schools have taught the basics for a few years now but those who make code their career are typically self-starters.

Michelle Slee, Agile delivery manager at DVLA recounts her interest in coding which began early.

"I remember having a computer like a C-16 and as well as playing games I wanted to teach myself code from it so there was always an interest. Year later I started to build websites, taught myself HTML and CSS."

Slee worked at the DVLA and had headed up a number of areas such as Policy and Fraud but revived her interest in coding a few years ago and then used that knowledge to push herself into different areas of the organisation.

"At home a couple of years ago I started teaching myself to code and I really enjoyed it. There's so much online learning available now to learn to code you know there's Coursera, EdX, Udacity - loads of great sites. And I was like a kid in a sweet shop when I discovered that. I pushed myself to get into forums where I could create apps. I was in a performance management working group and there as the policy rep, but during the meeting they said, ‘wouldn't it be good if we had an app for this'? So I went home that night and built one."

This eventually led to a sideways move into an IT role, and as Agile delivery manager, Slee now heads up a whole team of developers. She is keen to extend development opportunities to others - male and female - and has started a code learning community within the DVLA which is now in its second year.

"I started the code learning community to encourage people from non-IT areas to give coding a go. Maybe to see it as a new career for them but also as something creative. Coding can be such a creative activity. We went out to people across the agency and asked if they were interested in learning to code. Last year we started with around 30 and you do get some attrition, but we had about 10 that really stuck with it. There were three in particular who came to every session and made phenomenal progress - and all three were women. Two of them went on to get their first AWS certification. "

Slee is far from being the only woman working in technology who is actively extending the ladder of opportunity to others. Alice Genevois is senior data science manager at Lloyds Banking Group. In addition to being a mental health advocate within Lloyds, Genevois is also one of the leading members of the Lloyds Banking Group Women ConnecTech network, through which she co-founded the Coach to Code Programme, which launched in June 2020.

"We paired 100 women with coaches throughout the business and that was women who wanted to learn how to code but hadn't had the time or didn't know where to start. It didn't mean they wanted a career change necessarily, but they felt that they wanted to know more about data and about coding. It's a six-month program and we provide them with guidance and training to do every month. We had loads of speakers every month and profiles of everyone in the bank that works in data shared to show that working in data - you can do so much, and you don't always need to be super technical. It's just taking that plunge."

Those first steps are crucial - but it can be particularly difficult for women because of that nerdy male stereotype. Michelle Slee acknowledges that initially she felt a little intimidated by software engineers.

"There is a male engineering culture, and it can be intimidating. I felt it. When I came over into a technology role, I worked with a number of male software engineers, and it was intimidating at first."

Whilst it is important to acknowledge that it takes a certain amount of courage to push past those feelings (and indeed part of the purpose of the Women in Technology Excellence awards is to do just this,) the potential rewards of learning to code are worth it - even if you don't pursue it as a career. In addition to the creative potential of coding that Michelle Slee enjoys, the learning process can be a huge confidence booster, as difficulties are overcome.

Just as Michelle Slee's programme has created future developers, so Alice Genevois's Coach to Code programme has yielded some fantastic results.

"Out of 103 starters, 60 graduated in January, over five got into apprenticeships within Lloyds, several got jobs somewhere else. Even the ones who didn't necessarily change job now have a good understanding of coding in whichever language they choose. They've got the community that we've built, they've got a relationship with a coach and a lot of them have transformed that into a mentor relationship so if they want to continue progressing in data, they've got a lot of contacts."

Web and software developers are likely to be some of the most sought-after jobs in the post pandemic world. There couldn't be a better time to skill up.

The Women in Technology Excellence Awards are open for entries. Nominate yourself or a colleague now!