Building a new mythology: The coding boot-camp phenomenon

In the last three years, the coding boot camp [19,20] has truly established itself as a quick-fix aiming to plug the developer shortage emerging from a perceived gap between education and industry [17,18]. Software development companies have struggled to find suitable university graduates to fill their positions and have pointed the finger firmly at education [15]. With a growing gap between the number of graduates and positions available (Figure 1), the issue has become very public. The boot-camp concept, offering a viable alternative to the university degree route, has tapped into that potentially lucrative market, gaining promotion from the likes of former President Barack Obama in the US and ex-Prime Minister David Cameron in the UK [2,35]. The popularity of the coding boot-camp concept is twofold. Budding entrepreneurs with a decent business model provide a fresh stream of developers for industry, and keen developers can fast-track their careers, while avoiding cumbersome student debts. This article compares the coding boot-camp concept with the traditional university degree model, evaluating the impact on the sector. Do they deliver on their promises? Are they transparent enough? And, are are they truly addressing the skills shortage in the sector?