BEETROOT ACADEMY SWEDEN: A NEW LAUNCHPAD FOR IT PROFESSIONALS

How is Beetroot Academy contributing to the Swedish IT industry?

Beetroot Academy strives to address the gap in the market by offering IT courses and workshops such as coding, design and other related IT related topics. In response to COVID-19 and the national recommendations on social distancing, Beetroot Academy has adapted their teaching methods accordingly by transferring their courses to an online platform and offering free webinars. Impact Hub Stockholm Member Natalia Fedorova outlines her personal goal at Beetroot Academy: “ My mission is to encourage people to start learning IT and start a thriving IT career. "

In her role as Regional Coordinator, Natalia has identified three key challenges that Beetroot Academy aims to address: high unemployment among immigrants, general shortage of IT professionals, and the need for female programmers. Immigrants entering the Swedish labor market are more likely to have a limited experience of Swedish working life , and may face additional challenges due to language barriers, making it harder to know where and how to start their careers in IT. Natalia highlights the expansive nature of the tech sector and how it consists of diverse groups of people, each with different outlooks and skillsets: “It might be people who are working in or looking to work in the industry and want to improve their IT skills… they might already have knowledge of IT and may be looking for a change in career path, or those who feel insecure with their job future and want to develop their skills ”.

While Beetroot Academy encourages and supports those interested in transitioning to a career in tech, not everyone has a clear plan, and some use their services as a launchpad for a future in IT. And despite Stockholm being the tech start-up capital of Europe , Sweden is struggling with a shortage of tech professionals. The gap in tech talent is a result of rapid digitalization fast outpacing the required training for employees where more and more jobs require IT skills and digital proficiency, as well as Sweden's labor market and immigration policies that are slow to adapt to meet industry needs. points out that a proportion of applications she receives for Beetroot Academy courses consist of people feeling outdated and looking to update their IT skills, through programming or UI design, to complement their existing knowledge. With more people acquiring IT skills, Beetroot Academy promotes different opportunities within the tech sector and equips professionals with the required skills and expertise to stand out within the Swedish market. As Natalia succinctly explains: “ In IT, experience is everything ”.

In Malmö, where women and non-binaries celebrate their graduation from Pink Web Dev, Beetroot Academy has sought to encourage greater gender diversity in the male-dominated tech sector. The gender gap persists in IT; In digital and advanced skills such as programming, the gender gap is actually wider among advanced economies in Western Europe such as Sweden , despite maintaining a reputation for strong gender equality and gender mainstreaming. Opportunities to advance gender diversity in the tech sector have been a driving force for Beetroot Academy, positioning SDG # 5 Gender Equality and SDG # 10 Reduced Inequalities at the center of their business strategy.In promoting greater diversity in the tech sector, organizations like Beetroot Academy strive to minimize Sweden's IT skills gap by updating existing knowledge for professionals already working in the field, and by offering education for those aspiring to further develop their careers in tech.

Beetroot Academy is recruiting talented educators, freelancers and experts in the field of IT. Visit www.beetrootacademy.sefor more information on the courses offered and how to get involved. 

For more information and images, please contact Natalia Fedorova at natalia.fedorova@beetroot.academy

Natalia Fedorova, Regional Coordinator of Beetroot Academy Stockholm is a member of Impact Hub Stockholm.