HubSpot
HUBSPOT UPSKILLS THE NEXT GEN OF TECH TALENT IN IRELAND
Hubspot, a leading marketing platform, teaches university students in Dublin in-demand tech skills by partnering with Code First Girls.
KEY SUCCESS OUTCOMES
- Addressed the tech talent shortage in Dublin by teaching women in surrounding universities how to code through free online web development classes.
- Unlocked new talent pools, with 63% of women coming from a non-computer science background and 58% from underrepresented groups.
- HubSpot employees volunteered, teaching key class elements and giving career talks to their future hires
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ABOUT HUBSPOT
HubSpot partnered with Code First Girls to upskill and hire more women coders in Dublin. The HubSpot Dublin office is one of the company’s largest 10 global office locations. Employing over 40 nationalities, the Dublin office prides itself on inclusivity and diversity, hence the importance of partnering with Code First Girls to upskill and promote employment opportunities to women within the local area.
WHAT WERE HUBSPOT’S KEY TALENT CHALLENGES?
Despite Ireland being home to 22 world-class universities, in 2022 only 12,450 people graduated in high-level Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Skills areas. Ireland is now home to 16 of the 20 largest global tech companies, meaning that the competition for talent is fierce. Hubspot worked together with Code First Girls to upskill diverse talent in Dublin by teaching women coding skills, who might not otherwise have considered a route into tech.
We spoke with HubSpot to find out what talent challenges they were experiencing:
- Competing in a fierce job market for Ireland-based university graduates applying for tech roles.
- Attracting diverse candidates with both technical aptitude and the soft skills needed to succeed in the hybrid work environment of the Dublin office.
- Wanting to promote the Hubspot employer brand to a new talent pool of diverse candidates in the local area.
HOW CODE FIRST GIRLS HELPED HUBSPOT BUILD THEIR TECH TALENT PIPELINE:
1. UPSKILLING NON-STEM GRADUATE TALENT
94% of technology employers in Ireland report skills shortages as the main barrier to growth. In 2021, approximately 22,000 Irish university graduates studied STEM degrees, of which only 15% were women. Only 25% of these graduates went on to work within the tech sector. To address the skills shortage, HubSpot needed to look beyond traditional recruitment pathways to build a skilled and diverse early-career tech workforce.
How did we help?
Hubspot sponsored coding classes which were open to women studying any subject (STEM and non-STEM) at our Irish university partners, such as University College Dublin. These classes were designed to fit flexibly around full-time studies, making it possible for Hubspot to tap into a talent pool that would be graduating and ready for recruitment in the near future.
By sponsoring our web development classes, HubSpot was able to kickstart interest in tech for women who otherwise may not have considered it, or been able to afford further training. Our research shows that 84% of our community gain the confidence to pursue a career in tech once our Kickstarter course is completed.
2. TEACHING THE SKILLS TO THRIVE IN A REMOTE-FIRST ENVIRONMENT
47% of business leaders in Ireland reported that a key challenge to hiring tech talent is meeting expectations for a better work/life balance and flexible or remote working arrangements. That’s why in 2021, Hubspot decided to drop the “ish” in “remote-ish” and shifted to a hybrid remote-office model.
How did we help?
By sponsoring Code First Girls’ Kickstarter classes, HubSpot built a talent pool taught to work successfully with others online. Our classes are specifically designed to equip students with both the technical understanding and soft skills required for remote collaboration. The web development classes provide the opportunity to work on a remote group project, putting the skills learnt into practice by building a website from scratch and presenting the final project to the entire class.
3. POSITIONING HUBSPOT AS A KEY TECH EMPLOYER IN IRELAND
Employees hired through a positive candidate experience are 38% more likely to accept a job offer. Therefore, ensuring that candidates have a positive hiring experience is crucial when it comes to attracting future tech talent.
How did we help?
As part of their sponsorship of the Kickstarter classes, Hubspot employees delivered 20-minute career talks to the students. By doing so, HubSpot was able to promote live job roles to women and position their company as an employer of choice to as many as 45 women per sponsored class prior to launching their CFGdegree places.
“Partnering with Code First Girls was an opportunity for HubSpot to reach a large number of women, teach the classes as part of our volunteering initiative and also promote the Hubspot brand.” – Holly Dean, Technical Recruiter at HubSpot
WHAT SUCCESS HAS HUBSPOT SEEN SINCE PARTNERING WITH CODE FIRST GIRLS?
We spoke with Holly Dean, Technical Recruiter at HubSpot, to hear how sponsoring women through our web development classes helped HubSpot solve their talent challenges in Dublin.
1. UNLOCKED TALENT FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS
“One of our biggest successes from sponsoring Code First Girls classes was that we were able to upskill 63% of students from a non-computer science background and also 58% from underrepresented groups.”
This accomplishment holds particular significance in a region like Ireland, where the competition for tech talent is fierce. The ability to upskill women from non-technical backgrounds enabled HubSpot to unlock a previously untapped talent pool, giving them a substantial competitive edge over other tech employers in the region. This accomplishment holds particular significance in a region like Ireland, where the competition for tech talent is fierce. The ability to upskill women from non-technical backgrounds enabled HubSpot to unlock a previously untapped talent pool, giving them a substantial competitive edge over other tech employers in the region.
2. HIGH-QUALITY ONLINE CLASSES
“The content of the classes was absolutely amazing, with crystal-clear, straightforward instructions that our HubSpot instructors could easily follow and deliver an outstanding experience for our class participants.”
Code First Girls has a strong reputation for providing high-quality online training, with 94% of alumni saying they would recommend the program to others. A cohort-based program like our Kickstarter classes can deliver better outcomes for participants due to its sense of community, opportunities for interaction and collaboration, personalised coaching, and long-term support. These factors help participants feel more connected, motivated, and supported as they work towards their goals, which can increase their chances of success.
3. VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXISTING EMPLOYEES
“It was a great learning opportunity for our HubSpotters to teach these courses and speak directly to the community.”
HubSpot employees were given the chance to teach their web development classes as part of their eight hours of annual volunteering hours. The result was an increase in employee engagement with local talent, with HubSpot planting the seeds for a positive candidate experience before a candidate even heard about their live job roles.
WHY CHOOSE CODE FIRST GIRLS?
Companies around the world trust Code First Girls to:
- Upskill the next generation of tech talent in locations across the world.
- Bring down barriers and create non-traditional pathways into tech for women.
- Train women around the world in top tech skills including python, JavaScript, web development, full-stack and more.
- Build brand as a forward-looking technology employer who champions equal opportunities.
Why not find out for yourself? Speak to our experts here. 👇
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