Tech Cornwall Celebrates Success of Career Pathways Programme

First Cohort Graduates at Big Cornish Tech Showcase

Tech Cornwall is celebrating the success of its first Career Pathways programme, which launched in September 2024 with support from Digital Futures Cornwall and Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) funding. The programme, designed to open doors to tech careers, saw 19 of its 23 participants graduate in February, with a ceremony held at the BIG Cornish Tech Showcase.

A Flexible Approach to Learning

The Career Pathways programme provided a self-directed learning experience, allowing participants to upskill in areas such as web development, embedded systems, data science & AI, and DevOps. The initiative was structured to accommodate work, family, and health commitments, making tech careers more accessible to a diverse group of learners.

Reflecting on her experience, Neve Hoccom said, “The combination of self-led learning and in-person workshops was one of the best structures we could have in a programme like this. As I’m also studying at university, I find that my free time can often be limited and can change quite suddenly, so being able to do self-study meant I could focus on myself when I was able to.”

For Martyn Vallance, who had been working as a golf-green keeper since 2005, the accessibility of the course was a key factor in his decision to enrol. He shared, “I fancied changing my career after 20 years of working outside. I haven’t worked with computers since university… so it’s given me a lot of knowledge from a lot of people that are in the industry. I’ve learnt plenty of things about programming. I’m not an expert yet, but I hope to keep learning!”

With participants ranging in age from 20 to 60 and an almost even split between men and women, the programme aimed to support a broad spectrum of individuals. Don Atherton highlighted the flexibility of topics covered, stating, “That’s what the programme is for; to help people find where they fit in.”

Innovative Projects Showcased

As part of the graduation event at the BIG Cornish Tech Showcase, five projects developed during the programme were presented at the Career Pathways stand:

• Emotion Face-off – Created by Berta Valverde and María Florencia Ferreira, this interactive web app challenges players to recognise emotions in facial expressions and compare their guesses with AI predictions, combining real-time emotion recognition with machine learning.
• Cyber Sorted – Developed by Emily King and Kelly Crawford, this website helps sole traders and micro-businesses understand cybersecurity. It provides explainers, exercises, and templates to ease the process of achieving Cyber Essentials certification.
• Golf Hourgrass – A progressive web app designed by Martyn Vallance for the golf industry, allowing greenkeepers to log time spent on individual golf course operations and digitally transform work practices.
• Access Able – Developed by Neve Hoccom, this lightweight map app helps users find and contribute information about the accessibility of facilities for people with disabilities.
• Top Tech Talent Card – Created by Don Atherton in response to a Tech Cornwall client brief, this project is a tech-themed version of Top Trumps designed to highlight the tech talent in Cornwall.

Graduates Reflect on Their Achievements

Following the completion of the Data Science and AI programme, María Florencia Ferreira shared her experience on LinkedIn: “It’s been a great experience diving into machine learning and data science, working on real projects and learning from a fantastic community.” She also noted that after six weeks of balancing the course alongside her research role, the project was successfully deployed on Google Cloud.

Emily King, also posting on LinkedIn after her graduation, said, “It was lovely to graduate… For I’m now the happy owner of my new Career Pathways Programme: Digital Skills Development certificate of achievement from Tech Cornwall! And hopefully soon, the final project I’ve been doing will go live. You’ll all be some of the first to know when it does.”

With its first cohort completed, Tech Cornwall’s Career Pathways programme has demonstrated how flexible, self-directed learning can help open doors into the tech industry. As Cornwall’s digital sector continues to grow, programmes like this could be a game-changer for those looking to switch careers or develop new skills.