An innovative solution by way of an up-skilling boot camp to meet the growing demand for smart ICT workers in the Wellington region has been launched.

Grow Wellington, the economic development agency for the region, has provided seed funding to help kick-start Enspiral Dev Academy, an initiative, which would see Wellington workers able to hit the ground running in existing roles after completing a nine week intensive web developer programme.

“ICT in the Wellington region is going from strength to strength and companies are calling out for skilled workers,” says Adrian Gregory, General Manager for Innovation and Workforce Grow at Grow Wellington.

“We saw an opportunity to work with Enspiral and make a significant contribution towards addressing what is an immediate need.”

Gregory says the fee will be $11,000 per place on the programme, with $4000 of this fee to be refunded by the Academy when a graduate obtains a job in the industry.

Wellington City Council is also sponsoring graduates who take up employment in the industry in Wellington by way of a bursary.

“There is also provision for IT businesses to sponsor students and fund them through their studies, partially or completely," Gregory adds.

Gregory says Grow Wellington got behind Enspiral to assist with overall development costs of the programme, which is based on a very successful model being used currenty in the US in San Francisco and Chicago.

“The US has a high record of follow-on employment success from these boot camps and like these, Enspiral’s programme balances technical training with soft skills like customer-focused communications, which prepare students for the work environment,” Gregory adds.

Enspiral’s owner Rohan Wakefield says the programme has been developed after consultation with a number of the Wellington region’s IT businesses.

“We have made sure that we can offer students a chance to learn relevant skills needed by industry now," says Wakefield, who revealed there will be 30 places available on each programme.

“They are open to anyone with passion and proficiency with a computer. There is no age limit, people will need to be motivated, resourceful self starters.

“Even though the class is 40 hours per week, you will be working more like 70 to 100 hours."

A call for applicants is now out online at http://www.devacademy.co.nz/