Money transfer platform Wise is collaborating on a cloud-based edcuational initiative to help solve an IT skills shortage in its home country of Estonia.
Estonia, home to over 1,100 startups and 7 unicorns is currently short of thousands of IT specialists, and women occupy only 1/5 of jobs in the sector.
The new coding school, kood / Jõhvi, is aiming to bridge the gap, paving the way for hundreds of new IT specialists to enter the Estonian job market every year. The two-year study programme is built on a cloud-based platform where each student moves at their own pace, solving the tasks set by the system. There are no teachers or traditional classes in Jõhvi school and the studies are free of charge.
Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, says: "As a self-learner myself who dropped out of a traditional university CS degree, this innovative, practical school would have been ideal for my studies."
Wise has collaborated with the programme to set up a fintech study track and will be involved in the school’s day-to-day life by organising events such as hackathons, company visits and talks.
Estonia is home to Wise’s biggest office with over 1000 employees. The company says it will look to rectruit kood / Jõhvi students as full-time employees after graduation.
To apply, future students need to complete an online test which evaluates their logical thinking and problem solving skills. The school will then invite 600 candidates for a 3-week intense test period. The first 200 students will start their two-year studies at kood / Jõhvi in September 2021.