All without ever having to learn a single line of code, and regardless of their previous experience or employment background. In as little as five weeks, Switch by Jolt turns digital novices into skilled tech and business leaders by giving them a combination of real-world experience – taught by global tech experts – and the sought-after skills that today’s modern employers are crying out for.
Skills such as how to run a lean startup, marketing, product management and operations, financial planning and more.
What’s more, not only does this bootcamp retrain people to switch to an entirely new role within the tech industry, it gives them business skills needed to go it alone if they’ve been looking to launch their own startup or venture. This means Jolt Switchers can embark on an entirely new career in a third of the time it typically takes to learn new career skills.
“For a huge number of people, the pandemic presents an opportunity to take stock; to look at where they’ve been and where they want to go in their careers."
“For a huge number of people, the pandemic presents an opportunity to take stock; to look at where they’ve been and where they want to go in their careers. An opportunity many of us may never get again and one that employers and interviewers are going to be looking at going forward. Aside from your education and employment background, future employers will want to know how you spent your time in lockdown”, said Roei Deutsch, co-founder and CEO at Jolt.
“What did you learn? What skills did you acquire? Those candidates who took their careers and futures into their own hands, and were proactive during this reset period, will be the most appealing, most inspirational and ultimately most employable. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.”
The launch of Switch in the UK comes at a time when the impact of COVID-19 on jobs, careers and entire industries is only really starting to materialise. As furlough schemes start winding down and owners get the first real glimpse into just how hard they’ve been hit by the disease, reports suggest around 7.6M people could be left unemployed.
At the same time, the increase in people working remotely, and the demand for companies to offer digital tools, services and solutions has seen the need for people with tech and startups skills soar. The UK tech industry employs more than 2.93M people across the country with salaries that are, on average, £10K higher than other sectors. Advertised vacancies continued to climb into the start of lockdown and at the end of April, more than 90,000 tech sector jobs were being advertised.
The beauty of this push towards more remote working and digital skills is that people no longer have to relocate to London, either. Tech hubs in Manchester, Bristol and Leeds are among the so-called “Silicon Suburbs” with a higher proportion of digital tech employment than the UK average.
Jolt Switch is available in two formats. People who have recently been made unemployed or who are out of work can take part in the full-time bootcamp. This involves five weeks of lessons and workshops run Monday-Friday from 9-5pm. These courses are all run remotely and live, so can be done from the comfort of your own home, and are powered by Jolt’s advanced and immersive technology platform and led by world-class professionals.
“Before I had even graduated from Switch, Jolt introduced me to an exciting startup and I landed a job!” | Lori
“There’s no doubt that the tech sector is where it’s at right now – and this will be the case for years to come. Even before COVID-19 hit, there has been a significant gap between tech jobs and people with the skills needed to do those jobs for some time, and this has been accelerated in recent months”, said Oliver Beach, UK General Manager at Jolt. “Switch by Jolt will close this gap. It gives people the opportunity to completely retrain and learn vital, sought-after skills in a format that suits them, taught by some of the greatest business minds in the industry. Take charge of your potential and future-proof your career with Switch by Jolt.”
“Jolt helped me get my new job but even when I wasn't getting job offers in interviews, the fact that I was studying and doing this definitely made me stand out." | Maria
Applications for Jolt Switch are open now and the first workshops begin on 17 August and 24 August. A fresh intake of students will then start each month. All courses are run remotely.
