Invest: Miami speaks with Juha and Johanna Mikkola, Co-Founders
There is a real renaissance taking place in Miami right now, but it faces challenges when it comes to workforce development. We are looking to address those needs by providing education, training and job placement in the technology sphere. The fact is, today, every company is a technology company. Every industry is a tech industry. By 2020 there is expected to be 1.4 million open computing jobs, for which there are only a projected 400,000 candidates. As a result, there is a growing demand for developers that isn’t being met by traditional education outlets.
Since it was launched in May 2014, Wyncode has graduated 138 students and maintained a job placement rate of 90 percent within three months of completing the program. Our model is unique in that we focus, not on theory, but on developing practical skills. We have experienced developers training new developers.
Following this success, we opened a new school in Fort Lauderdale in spring 2015. In 2015, we also became the first code school to be licensed by the Florida Department of Education. The issue of how to license code schools is a nationwide matter, and we are proud to be leading the nation in this matter. We have been invited to the White House twice to consult as part of the New Economy Skills Training Association (NESTA), an initiative of U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith.
Looking ahead, Miami will only continue to build on its existing tech ecosystem. The biggest obstacle to this growth is the ability to acquire senior-level developers locally, but in time this will change. There continues to be a critical mass of local entrepreneurs who want to stay here, build here and seize on the opportunities offered by this dynamic market.
