Back in February, we shared some exciting news about our intensive, bootcamp-style training program which we call the Academy. Today, we would like to share an update on the first cohort of graduates.
As a recap, we selected six applicants for our three-month Academy program starting in February and six more for the second class starting in March. Candidates went through a fairly rigorous application process, submitting videos to questions spanning personal development, technical knowledge, and decision making. The six Academy members in each group were hired as full-time employees, not interns or temporary hires. When we hire, we make the decision on candidates that we believe will not only be successful in the Academy but anywhere in the First Factory organization.
The Academy members were challenged throughout the program, learning and refreshing knowledge in both Java and React, BackEnd learning modules covered Object-Oriented Programming, Java concepts, Spring Framework and PostgreSQL, while the FrontEnd curriculum focused on JavaScript, React, and TypeScript. As this program was in partnership with one of our clients, during the second month Academy members began integrating with the client development team. This included setting up environments, attending Daily Stand-Ups, and shadowing engineers working in the codebase. The exercises and tickets assigned during this time provided them with ample opportunity to investigate and review the code’s mechanisms and architecture as well as experience many of the most common problems encountered by team members. As you might imagine, the integration with the client deepened in month three. Overall, everyone felt challenged and well supported, found the curriculum and instruction to be comprehensive yet concise, and learned the necessity of demonstrating both technical knowledge and teamwork in order to be successful working on a project. Subsequently, all six graduates of our first cohort were hired by the client. A job well done by all involved.
What’s next for the First Factory Academy? As the second cohort enters its third and final month, we are incorporating participant feedback into the curriculum, training additional instructors, and mapping out the curriculum for other technologies, such as NodeJS. We expect to start another Academy class in a couple of months, so stay tuned for updates.
It is an exciting time to be in software development as the demand for engineers continues to increase, the technologies are evolving rapidly, and most importantly, so many passionate and talented people are starting their careers in the space. We are grateful to those Academy members that made the decision to join our team, put their trust in us, and worked diligently to make the most of the opportunity.
Maybe you or someone you know will join us in the next class.
