CASE STUDY: BT GROUP
TRANSFORMING LOCAL TECH TALENT POOLS WITH BT GROUP
BT Group, a multinational telecommunications company, partnered with Code First Girls to upskill and hire tech talent in locations across the UK.
KEY SUCCESS OUTCOMES:
- Utilised the entire candidate acquisition funnel to hire multiple software engineers across the UK, including Birmingham and Ipswich.
- Retained 100% of CFGdegree candidates on full-time employment to stay ahead in an industry with a highly competitive demand for talent.
- Helped transform the business culture at BT Group, with our CFGdegree graduates kickstarting their own internal Women in Tech support network.
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BT Group is one of the world’s leading communications services companies. Their purpose is as simple as it is ambitious: they connect for good. The connections they make are helping solve the world’s biggest challenges such as the global pandemic, climate change and cyber security. Through the power of technology, they’re supporting customers to live, work and play together better.
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WHAT WERE THE KEY TALENT CHALLENGES THAT DROVE BT TO PARTNER WITH CODE FIRST GIRLS?
We spoke with BT Group to find out what talent challenges they were experiencing before partnering with Code First Girls.
- Hiring to meet the skills needed in locations outside of London, such as Birmingham, Bristol, Belfast and Ipswich.
- Increasing the digital division headcount from 3,500 to 6,300 employees by April 2024, with 6.5% of the openings specifically for candidates from diverse backgrounds.
- Attracting a specific skill set, including product management, software engineering, cloud, design, data, AI and machine learning, in an industry with a highly competitive demand for talent.
HOW CODE FIRST GIRLS HELPED BT GROUP BUILD THEIR TECH TALENT PIPELINE:
Marlon Wilson, Transformation, Change and Inclusion Manager, explained three key reasons why BT Group pivoted from traditional methods of recruitment to using Code First Girls.
ACCESSING LOCATION SPECIFIC TECH TALENT POOLS
“We are seeing a highly competitive demand for talent and there is a limited number of individuals able to meet our ever-growing need for software engineering skills in locations beyond London.”
How did we help?
Code First Girls built a robust talent pipeline of high-quality candidates through a scalable programme across the UK in key locations for BT Group including Birmingham, Bristol, Belfast and Ipswich. By sponsoring women through education programmes, BT Group were able to unlock previously undiscovered local talent pools and boost local economic opportunities for women ready to train in tech.
REDUCING THE TECHNICAL SKILLS GAP WITH COURSE SPECIALISATIONS
“Over the last few years we’ve hired more in the data, AI and software engineering spaces. Code First Girls offer a pipeline of talent to help us to fill our skills gaps and hire women with suitable technical skills in our key locations.”
How did we help?
Code First Girls has helped BT Group build up an exceptional tech pipeline. This all started with our Kickstarter classes, whereby all candidates learn the basics in a tech area. Our students are assessed via technical assessments as a prerequisite to even be considered for the CFGdegree. This ensures our clients sponsor the best talent with stand-out technical skills and leads to a 96% success rate of women moving directly off our education scheme and into full-time roles.
ACCESS TO A STANDOUT COMMUNITY OF CODERS
“We were most impressed with the incredible talent recruited from the programme, all of our hires had an eagerness to get stuck in and learn the role.”
How did we help?
100% of candidates passed the intensive 16-week CFGdegree programme sponsored by BT Group and over half passed with merit or distinction and went on to roles as software engineers.
AND WHAT ABOUT RESULTS? WHAT SUCCESS HAS BT GROUP SEEN SINCE PARTNERING WITH CODE FIRST GIRLS?
Continuing our conversation with Marlon Wilson, Transformation, Change and Inclusion Manager, we found out how we impacted the BT Group teams’ experience of hiring a diverse workforce.
1. UNLOCKED LOCAL TALENT POOLS
“This is a life-changing programme allowing women the opportunity to move into technology.”
Code First Girls intelligently matched applicants to BT Group’s requirements for talent in specific locations across the UK, including cities such as Ipswich and Birmingham. Throughout their programme BT Group was able to provide introductory coding courses to women in strategic geographical hubs, with the exceptional talent from classes moving onto the CFGdegree in software and data, resulting in multiple hires for BT Group.Â
2. 100% RETENTION RATES
“The CFGdegree candidates are all working in permanent roles in the business, delivering and completing impactful work projects, and we’re experiencing 100% retention rates across both our 2021 and recent 2022 cohorts.”
BT Group have partnered with Code First Girls for a third year in a row after experiencing 100% retention rates in their previous cohorts. Code First Girls have an average success rate of 96% of women moving off our CFGdegree and into full-time employment, with our intelligent matching process ensuring we find women who are motivated and empowered by the prospect of long-term growth opportunities at BT Group.
3. TRANSFORMING BUSINESS CULTURE
“Diversity and inclusion is critical to our growth and the future of tech. Code First Girls offers us the diverse female talent to help us to grow our business, along with a community that supports each other and helps build our peer network.”Â
By coming into employment from a community-first talent pool, the BT Group cohorts were empowered to kickstart their own cultural change by creating an internal support network. Our CFGdegree graduates’ experience of belonging to a community enabled them to drive real change and make a positive impact beyond the code, with the support network ultimately supporting BT Group’s singular purpose – connect for good.
WHY CHOOSE CODE FIRST GIRLS?
Companies around the world trust Code First Girls to:
Build a guaranteed tech talent pipeline in strategic regional hubs – Code First Girls are 1000% oversubscribed with applications vs job roles.Â
Experience an average success rate of 96% of women moving off our CFGdegree and directly into full-time employment.
Embrace the CFG community and empower graduates to pay-it-forward and change workplace cultures from the inside-out
Unlock diverse tech talent across a range of teams and divisions via the largest candidate acquisition funnel of skilled women in the world.
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