[May 19, 2015]

Code Fellows Launches $250,000 Scholarship Fund to Foster Technical Workforce Development among Women, Underrepresented Minorities and Veterans

Code Fellows, a two-year-old code school headquartered in Seattle, today announced the launch of a diversity scholarship program for women, underrepresented minorities, and veterans, which will provide $250,000 in funding for 40 scholarships in the program's first year. Administered through the non-profit WTIA, and supported at launch by several leading tech employers, the program will lower financial barriers to full-time programs and encourage qualified candidates to apply. The scholarships will cover 50-70 percent of Code Fellows' tuition costs and will be awarded for Bootcamp and Development Accelerator courses.

"This diversity scholarship program builds on one of our core beliefs: everyone should have the opportunity to develop," said Kristin Smith, CEO of Code Fellows. "For employers, increasing diversity, including the perspectives of women, minorities and veterans, leads to more effective teams building better products. And big picture, expanding the talent pool to meet the tremendous demand for qualified software developers will drive broad economic growth. We're fortunate to have partners like Tag Creative putting their support behind these scholarships."

According to research from USA Today, just 2 percent of technology workers at leading tech companies are black, and 3 percent are Hispanic. Meanwhile, women make up only 20 ercent of the programming workforce, according to NPR. And despite the fact that IT-related jobs are considered a top career path for veterans, they can often be difficult to access for transitioning service members.

The Code Fellows Diversity Scholarship Fund aligns with The White House's recently announced TechHire Initiative, which has dedicated $100 million to train Americans to fill the half-million currently open IT-related jobs, and match them with employers that have "urgent" needs in fields such as cyber security and software development.

"We're very proud to be providing scholarship support for Code Fellows students," said Jefferson Fletcher, CEO of Tag Creative. "We know firsthand how important diverse voices are to building great teams, and also how hard it is to find the right talent. We strongly value how Code Fellows goes well beyond technical training to empower developers to be productive team members from day one."

Code Fellows, which launched in Seattle in January 2013, expanded into Portland in September 2014 and into Chicago in March of 2015. To date, the school has graduated 401 software engineers from its full-time Development Accelerator programs with an average starting salary of $75,600 per year. The top reported salary offer for a Code Fellows graduate has been $155,000 per year.

To learn more, or to apply for a Code Fellows scholarship before the June 15^th submission deadline for classes starting between July 6^th and August 3^rd, visit www.CodeFellows.org. Or to make a tax deductible contribution of any amount to the Diversity Scholarship Fund, send a check made payable to WTIA Workforce Institute, with the memo: Code Fellows Diversity Scholarships, to Code Fellows, 511 Boren Ave. N., Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109. Receipts will be issued by WTIA Workforce Institute.

About Code Fellows
Code Fellows is a two-year-old code school headquartered in Seattle that helps students advance their careers by guaranteeing high-paying job offers after successful completion of its Development Accelerators. Its staff, students, and alumni are passionate about helping individuals, communities, and organizations thrive by providing world-class technical education, career coaching, and job placement services. To learn more about Code Fellows, visit www.codefellows.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150519005327/en/

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