Careers Week at Kerry College – Monavalley Campus

Internationally, County Kerry is known for its outstanding natural beauty and sporting prowess. However, the region has also been quietly developing into a thriving hub for science and technology companies. Innovative Irish and international companies have made the county their home, and more are arriving every year. Now, with over 70 sci-tech companies in the region, the opportunities for a career in STEM has never been better in the Kingdom.

With a worldwide shortage of STEM talent, companies in Kerry are constantly looking for initiatives to ensure a strong pipeline of software developers and engineers who can meet the growing demand for talent in the region. To address this, earlier this summer Kerry College and Code Institute began a partnership of reskilling for a digital future.

The goal was to take 14 Kerry-based candidates and reskill them to become junior software developers. Now having completed this intensive programme, the 14 prospective software developers will engage with local organisations such as Aspen Grove Solutions, Tweak, JRI America, Sneem Digital Hub, FRS Recruitment and Salaso at Careers Week (2nd-6th September) at Kerry College – Monavalley Campus with the ambition of starting their tech career with some of the most innovative companies in the region.

Commenting Aoife O’Brien, KerrySciTech said: “ We have an extremely vibrant science, tech and engineering ecosystem here in Kerry and much of that is down to the outstanding work of our member companies & local partners who together are ensuring that our region is emerging as a world-class sci-tech hub. With a growing demand for software skills, we are delighted to support Kerry College who through this innovative partnership with Code Institute are addressing the skills needs in the County. We look forward to participating in Careers Week and highlighting the breadth of opportunity available in our thriving sector.”

Also commenting John Herlihy, Kerry College said: “We are delighted to offer a practical programme that gives students job-ready skills along with an academic qualification. Code Institute’s Diploma in Software Development is the only University credit-rated coding Bootcamp in Europe and is level 6 on the Irish NFQ.

What’s great about this intensive programme is that there are no exams. Instead, students focus on developing a portfolio of projects, which they can present to local employers at careers week.”

Careers week will also see the developers participate in soft skills and technical interviews, as well as portfolio preparation and presentation. Senior Developer Matt Rudge will also host a fun and energetic Hackathon, where students will hack social justice issues.

“Kerry is emerging as a very exciting destination for tech talent, large multi-nationals and local business success’ like Aspen Grove, Dairymaster, Fexco, Kerry Group PulseLearning, Tricel, Tweak are all attracting and growing technical talent in the region. Our partnership with Kerry College aims to create a pipeline of technical talent that will help to develop and improve long term economic growth in the region”, said Jim Cassidy CEO Code Institute.