Dive Brief:
- WeWork has acquired Flatiron School, a New York-based private coding academy, which offers bootcamp-style training for coders, Axios reports, adding that the move demonstrates emerging interest in bypassing college, at least in the U.S. tech world.
- WeWork says it plans to expand Flatiron’s programming from its single location in Manhattan to most of their 170 offices, according to Axios.
- Bootcamp schools are graduating more students each year; graduates for 2017 are expected to reach nearly 23,000, according to the New York Times. The alternate programs aim to provide the tech-savvy candidates needed to fill the half a million computing jobs open in the U.S. today.
Dive Insight:
The New York Times report notes that some of these bootcamps have already shut down, but says that the successful ones will be those that work with employers to continually update their curriculum in response to the workplace's needs.
WeWork's acquisition is just the latest update in this shift away from college degrees. The micro-credentialing phenomenon may continue to gain steam as companies push for skilled workers, and not just in coding. Other tech disciplines like virtual reality and artificial intelligence are experiencing the same movement.
This shift may require employers to take a hard look at which skills they really need their employees to possess. Alternatives to traditional credentialing – including skills-based hiring – may very well change the way recruiters source talent for the foreseeable future.
