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How Skyscanner Competes fOR tech Talent in Scotland and Spain
Following the global pandemic in 2020, Skyscanner sought to increase diversity in its technical teams to improve business resilience in challenging market conditions. In their effort to tap into local talent and promote gender diversity around their office locations, Skyscanner partnered with Code First Girls to unlock local talent pools of women in Scotland and Spain to join their technical teams at their HQs.
Since our partnership, Skyscanner positioned Scotland as an attractive tech hub, building a strong talent pool with over 80% of students based locally. They hired multiple candidates from the CFGdegree in full-stack development for their Scotland headquarters and educated women in web development from diverse backgrounds, with 47% being career switchers and 62% beginners. Skyscanner also expanded their program fourfold, launching classes in Spain to provide learning and mentorship opportunities to women near their Barcelona office.
4X
Program expansion
47%
Of CFG grads were career switchers
The Problem
Competing for Top Tech Talent and Increasing Diversity in a Challenged Market
Skyscanner was facing tough competition with London to attract computer science graduates from top Scottish universities, which was key to keeping their business resilient. Scotland’s tech sector was also dealing with a serious talent shortage, with local areas lacking enough skilled people to meet rising demand. On top of that, Skyscanner found it challenging to attract women in the regions around their international offices who were interested in pursuing a career in technology. To tackle these issues, they set ambitious diversity goals: aiming for 40% women in leadership and 25% women in tech by 2025, focusing on bringing more women into tech at all levels.
The Solution
1. Unlocking New Tech Talent Pools in a Growing Market
Skyscanner recognised the potential of Code First Girls’ community of career switchers and decided to sponsor them as a means to combat the tech skills shortage in Scotland. Since career switchers already possess valuable knowledge and leadership experience from their previous roles, this initiative also aligned with their diversity targets of bringing more women into tech at all levels by 2025, including 40% women in leadership.
2. Building a Tech Talent Hub Attractive to Women in Scotland
By sponsoring our Coding Kickstarter classes in Web Development, Skyscanner had the opportunity to cultivate a dedicated tech talent pool based in Scotland that would strongly identify with their employer brand. Skyscanner can now channel women from their talent pool into additional opportunities, which they did with the CFGdegree programme and mentorship opportunities, positioning Scotland as an attractive tech hub capable of rivalling tech opportunities.
3. Investing Early in Tech Talent for Future Tech Hubs
Following the success of the pilot in Scotland, Skyscanner multiplied their programme by four times, expanding classes into Spain which was a completely new market for Code First Girls to enter. As Spain emerges as a promising tech hub on the horizon, Skyscanner decided to invest early in providing opportunities to women around their Barcelona office with the goal of creating a talent pool of dynamic people to help drive a transformation in online travel search.
The Results
We spoke with Myra Fulton, VP of Engineering, and Mairi Fernandez-Ares, Talent Director, to hear how sponsoring women through our classes helped Skyscanner build tech talent pools in Scotland and Spain.
HIRING WOMEN INTO THEIR SCOTLAND HEADQUARTERS
Skyscanner’s sponsorship of Coding Kickstarter classes created a tech talent pool, with 80% of class students situated in Scotland specifically. These individuals completed their training online while residing in various locations across Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews, and Falkirk. Leveraging this talent pool, Skyscanner hired multiple CFGdegree graduates into their Scotland-based headquarters. This endeavour resulted in the establishment of a resilient engineering recruitment pipeline, which Skyscanner will continue to expand in 2023.
A 4% INCREASE YEAR ON YEAR OF WOMEN IN TECH ROLES
As part of their goal to bring more women into tech at all levels by 2025, 47% of women sponsored by Skyscanner were career switchers, 89% didn’t study STEM at degree level and 62% were of a beginner tech level. Through our partnership, Skyscanner has been able to educate women in coding for the first time in their lives and build a talent pool of diverse experiences which they could utilise to achieve their diversity targets. Their success can be seen in the increased representation of women at various levels within the organization.
OVER 100 INTERNATIONAL CFGDEGREE APPLICATIONS
Skyscanner’s sponsorship of classes in Spain, a new territory for Code First Girls, was a huge success as the talent pool served as a funnel for Skyscanner’s sponsored CFGdegree and mentorship opportunities which received over 100 international applications. The students came from the talent pool built by the classes and received further education and mentorship from Skyscanner employees to help build loyalty towards the Skyscanner employer brand.
Why Choose Code First Girls
Companies around the world trust Code First Girls to:
- Build specialised talent pools in global office locations.
- Attract tech talent by leveraging Code First Girls’ expertise to establish a presence in international locations.
- Enhance your competitive advantage by fostering diverse tech teams that innovate 1.7x more.
- Teach a comprehensive curriculum designed to empower women globally with highly sought-after technical skills, including Python, JavaScript, and Web Development.
Why not find out for yourself? Speak to our experts here.👇
