This year the Belfast-headquartered tech giant has announced that it will double its intake, with 20 places on its innovative Earn As You Learn programme now available for anyone who wants to start their career in IT, either straight from school or from a different career path.
The scheme will fund 20 students with a package worth up to £100,000 per student, meaning each participant will not only receive a competitive salary each month, but will also complete university debt-free.
Furthermore, the company has committed to offering 20 places per year on the scheme for the next five years, taking its total investment to £10million.
Launched in 2013, the career development initiative has 40 students currently studying via the programme, which provides them with the opportunity to combine work with practical learning experience.
Delivered in partnership with Ulster University, participants join Kainos as Apprentice Software Engineers, with one day each week dedicated to part-time study for a Degree in Computing Systems. After four and a half years, those selected for the programme graduate with an honours degree and invaluable, on-the-job experience.
Don McFall, Course Director of BSc Computing Systems at Ulster University, has been working closely with Kainos on the development and success of this scheme. He said:
“In recent years we have grown the BSc Computing Systems part-time course to become one of the biggest programmes of its type in the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment. A large part of this success can be attributed to working with our industrial partners to promote and sustain innovative ways to integrate higher-level education with employment in industry leading companies. The Earn-As-you-Learn scheme at Kainos is a shining example of best practice of this type and we hugely welcome the commitment that Kainos has shown and the investment they have made in the scheme.
It is now possible for any student to complete the BSc Computing Systems programme in 3, 4, 5 or 6 years, depending on how quickly they choose to proceed. This has been made possible by the use of what we call a Variable Rate Progression (VRP) model underpinning this part-time course. We believe this will appeal to a broad range of potential students and indeed companies interested in developing higher-level apprenticeship schemes.”
Colette Kidd, Chief People Officer said:
“At Kainos we pride ourselves on our determination to nurture and invest in the talent of the future. Earn As You Learn is a modern apprenticeship, and is part of the Kainos Academy along with our annual A.I.Camp and CodeCamp initiatives, all of which are delivered in an effort to find talented young people and help them fulfil their potential through world-class training and mentoring.
“We are committed to broadening access and offering different routes to school leavers from more diverse backgrounds, which also engenders greater diversity within the company.”
First Class Honours graduate, Leah Fullerton, was part of the first cohort of Earn As You Learn students, and now works as a Support Engineer with the company. Leah said:
“Kainos is a fantastic place to work! It’s a really innovative environment and the training, support and encouragement provided on the Earn As You Learn initiative is brilliant!“The practical experience working on live clients made the theory behind my degree so much easier to understand, and of course the fact that I’ve graduated without any student loans is something I am very grateful for.”
The next information evening for post A-Level students interested in the programme, is taking place at the Kainos Derry office on 22nd March 2018.
More information can be found here: https://www.kainos.com/careers/student-and-graduates/earn-as-you-learn