Problem addressed
Luxembourg has been experiencing in the last 10 years a gap between its strong economic growth and its talent base, particularly in information technology (IT) jobs for coders and developers. Organisations aiming to adapt to digital transformation were hindered by the shortage of digital competencies. At the same time, many young adults were observed to be outside the paths of conventional education. This created an opportunity to align their upskilling training with the needs of the digital job market. The first phase of the ‘Fit4Coding’ project ran from 2016 until 2017, while the second phase ran from 2018 to 2019. The European Social Fund (ESF) funded 50% of each phase, complemented by a budget from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy. The project has since run annually, fully funded by the Luxembourg Government.
Innovative solution
Fit4Coding Jobs offered the first coding bootcamp training in Luxembourg. Its innovation was the combination of technical and employability skills in a setting that allowed for individual support. Trainees received 490 hours of training in an intensive ‘bootcamp format’ from experts on the most popular coding technologies (HTML, CSS, JS, Angular, Laravel, PHP, Bootstrap, JQuery). Classes were in-person, in small groups (max. 20), which was well-suited to those without previous academic training. Participants also took an employability module, ensuring they were prepared to meet potential employers. Another innovation was running the project in English rather than French, reflecting the fact that some 70% of Luxembourg’s workforce is composed of immigrants and cross-border workers. Finally, the selection process for project participants was itself innovative, focusing on applicants’ motivation, understanding of the coding profession, logical thinking and analytical skills, rather than on academic standards. That combination maximised engagement and minimised drop-out rates, with a high number of graduates successfully finding a job after completing the project.
The key stakeholders in Fit4Coding Jobs project were: NumericALL, Luxembourg’s first coding school; the Employment Development Agency (Agence pour le Développement de l’Emploi - ADEM), within the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy; and the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy itself. NumericALL designed the project and has been the formal manager since the second phase in 2018. It is responsible for implementing the training (including updating the programme in line with market needs), selecting and recruiting trainers for web technologies, designing employability programmes and identifying coaches, providing individual support to participants (including after the training), and promoting the programme within the digital ecosystem of the country (including awareness-raising and strengthening the visibility of alumni). In collaboration with NumericALL, ADEM selects the participants. It also supports programme promotion among potential recruiters, including in the construction, health, food and IT sectors. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy was the formal signatory of the first contract with the ESF and has since become the project sponsor.
Key results and benefits
There was no third-party evaluation of Fit4Coding Jobs. However, the ESF (national level) audited the project every six months, and the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy carried out an internal evaluation at the end of the first phase, concluding that the intervention was effective and suitable for further funding. Numeric4All continuously measures participants’ progress, providing regular feedback to trainees and reporting results, first to the ESF and now to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy. Those findings were used as the basis for the decision to continue the project afters its initial phase.
Between 2018 and 2019, Fit4Coding Jobs trained 90 people (in line with the participation numbers of its predecessor project, Fit4Coding), 80% of whom entered employment within six months of completing the training. That trend continued after 2019, with Numeric4All continuing to achieve 80% employment rate among its participants. Fit4Coding Jobs graduates were hired by a variety of companies, ranging from start-ups or consultancies to joining firms such as PWC or KPMG as in-house junior web developers, for example. More experienced participants typically did not return to their previous function, but instead took on more senior positions with their new strengthened coding skills. No formal statistics are publicly available, however.
‘[These were] Four fantastic months - I will always be grateful to NumericALL and ADEM for this opportunity that changed my life.’
‘The bootcamp training format is a great way to learn, because it’s intensive, it puts you to work every day, every hour. Afterwards I found my “dream job”, at ADEM’s job board. I applied, and after two or three weeks, after I finished the course, I got the job.’
‘During the course it was very, very fast, and I was thinking that it was insane, but it turns out that it reflects work in real life, in a real job, because we have deadlines to deliver or complete some tasks. They prepared us very well for real life jobs.’
‘We get a lot of help – from the teachers, through the ‘employability days’ convention, they help you with your CV, they help you to start. Now I am a software engineer at KPMG Luxembourg.’
‘I did not immediately find a job. After nine months without finding anything, I was invited to an interview thanks to the NumericALL network. Just two weeks later, I started the job.’
Potential for mainstreaming
Luxembourg is similar to most other EU Member States in that public institutions and private companies need coders to support their digital transformation, yet traditional academic education does not provide the necessary practical experience. Fit4Coding Jobs would likely benefit other countries. Numeric4All previously implemented a similar initiative in France, but large-scale transfer of the concept has yet to happen. The methodology of combining technical skills with employability training, including personalised support, can easily be transferred to other contexts too.
Numeric4All highlighted the project’s selection process as a key success factor, as it prioritised motivation over qualifications. In addition, the concrete nature of the collaboration with the government (particularly the authority in charge of labour and the employment service) was another success factor. Finally, the training was credible and trusted by potential employers.
One key lesson was the importance of face-to-face sessions and team support to completion of the training. Another lesson was that people with challenging personal circumstances could experience difficulties in completing the programme, which is very intense and time-consuming. In some specific cases, supplementing the programme with additional individual support could help participants experiencing difficulties. Despite broad approval by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy, the ESF funding was crucial to implementing the project, as it helped to reduce the risk of experimentation.
