Powercoders believes in promoting equal opportunities for diverse talents in the IT industry.
We train women and men of diverse backgrounds to fulfil their potential in a digital future.

We offer a 13 week full-time coding bootcamp followed by a 6 to 12-month internship. Our goal is to support our candidates to get a permanent job in IT departments and IT companies.

Our program is for you if:

• You are living in Switzerland and have the right to work in Switzerland
• You are facing barriers to enter the IT job market (and can’t access similar programs)
• You are 18-55 years old

Our program is for candidates of diverse backgrounds who are facing barriers to enter the IT job market. The majority of our seats are reserved for people with a refugee status. If you don’t have a refugee status, you can apply, too.

We encourage women to apply for our program. Our aim is that women make one third of our participants. (Reasons: Diversity helps teams. And companies are looking for female talents.)

Apply to the program closest to your place of residence.
APPLY FOR LAUSANNE APPLY FOR ZURICH

WHAT WE EXPECT

• You have started to learn digital skills on your own (see resources below)
• You understand, speak and write English (B1 level)
• You are a fast learner
• You are able to work well in a team
• You are self-reflected and open-minded
• You are ready to give 100%

It’s an advantage (but not required) if additionally:

• You speak the local language (German / French)
• You have work experience
• You have solid IT skills in one field

WHAT WE OFFER

• 13-week intensive programming course with dedicated specialisation tracks (Web Design, Advanced JavaScript, Java, Testing, DevOps, etc.)
• Weekly social & business skills curriculum during the IT bootcamp
• Chance to get various interviews for 6-12 month internship
• Job coach accompanying you during your internship
• Scholarships to cover the participation fee (5,000 CHF) for those who are not funded by social assistance
• Additional support for laptop, food and transportation where needed

100 hours: Participants are asked to commit to paying forward (volunteering) 100 hours of their time for people and organisations who benefit from their support.

Next Generation Fund: Participants commit to paying forward a scholarship for a future participant once they are in a comfortable financial situation through Powercoders.

NEXT PROGRAMS IN 2020

We are continuously accepting applications for our programs.

Apply to the program closest to your place of residence.
APPLY FOR LAUSANNE APPLY FOR ZURICH

For social workers: download the factsheet in German or English

GETTING READY

In the meantime, we strongly encourage you to keep practicing your coding and language skills. We recommend the following (free) resources:

Learn digital skills

• GCF Global: Windows Basic Tutorial (text-based)
• Udacity: Intro to HTML/CSS and Javascript
• Udemy: Web Development By Doing - HTML / CSS From Scratch
• Freecodecamp: Various Courses
• Coursera: HTML, CSS, and Javascript for Web Developers
• Various mobile apps (e.g. SoloLearn)

Learn English

• Mobile Apps (like Hello English, Duolingo)
• Online Courses (like edx, British Council, EnglishClass101)
  
• Youtube Channels (like Rachel’s English, James ESL)
• Watch English movies, TV shows and listen to the radio and podcasts
• Find a practice partner

Prepare your CV

As part of your application, we expect a well written and presentable CV.
CV instructions & example (by University of Zurich)

APPLY NOW

Apply to the program closest to your place of residence.
APPLY FOR LAUSANNE APPLY FOR ZURICH