- The Company – Code First Girls (CFG) is a social enterprise transforming access to tech careers by providing free, flexible coding and digital skills training to women and non-binary individuals. CFG has already taught 200,000 learners and is building the largest and most diverse community of tech talent.
- The Issue – CFG tackles both the gender gap in tech and the UK’s growing digital skills shortage. While 3 million additional tech workers will be needed by 2025 to support national goals in areas like AI, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure, only 26,000 women are expected to graduate with relevant tech qualifications this year. This disparity highlights the urgent need for inclusive, scalable training that broadens access and accelerates tech talent development in the UK.
- Key Products – CFG delivers its mission through two products:
o Code First Girls, which provides free training to women and non-binary individuals.
o Code First Teams, which empowers organisations to upskill and reskill staff in areas like AI, data science, and software development.
Website: codefirstgirls.com
What is Code First Girls?
Code First Girls is a social enterprise dedicated to closing both the gender and digital skills gaps in the tech industry. CFG provides essential technical training, through free coding courses that lead to employment outcomes. CFG has partnerships spanning over 130 global companies and 100+ universities, offering accessible pathways into high-demand tech roles.
“Code First Girls is on a mission to reshape the UK’s tech talent landscape by closing the gender gap and solving the digital skills shortage. We have already helped thousands of women reskill into tech and AI roles, but there’s still much more to do as the demand for tech roles grows.
With automation transforming the workforce, we are equipping individuals traditionally underrepresented in the tech sector with the skills they need to enter the evolving landscape – strengthening both inclusion and the UK’s long-term economic resilience. We believe opportunity must be inclusive, and we are calling on Government and industry to work with organisations like Code First Girls to make that a reality.” – Anna Brailsford MBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Code First Girls.
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What Makes Code First Girls’ Unique?
Code First is uniquely positioned to deliver tangible business value by combining social impact with targeted, scalable talent solutions. Our free, inclusive, and modular training pathways span the entire tech talent lifecycle – from early-stage awareness to mid-level upskilling – allowing employers to engage, train, and hire from a purposefully diverse pool of high-potential candidates.
Unlike traditional providers, Code First delivers:
- Guaranteed hiring outcomes through the CFGdegree and +Masters, with an 89% conversion rate into tech roles, significantly exceeding apprenticeship completion rates.
- Modular, employer-aligned training paths that let businesses tailor learning to their roles and locations, including foundational and specialist courses in AI, cyber security, full-stack, and DevOps.
- Access to a one-of-a-kind community of over 200,000 women and underrepresented talent, ready to be activated via talent attraction campaigns, branded courses, and real-time engagement.
- Internal upskilling and retention tools via Code First Teams, enabling employers to rapidly reskill existing employees into mid- and specialist-level tech roles without the cost or delay of external hiring.
- Inclusive brand equity through structured marketing opportunities – including branded certificates, employer-branded learning hubs, and high-visibility case studies – all designed to boost CSR, ESG, and talent attraction.
With career switchers making up over 50% of CFG degree candidates, and 67% of learners from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds, our model doesn’t just close skills gaps, it transforms who gets to participate in the tech economy. For our partners, this means accelerated time-to-hire, reduced recruitment costs, improved diversity in hard-to-fill roles, and enhanced brand trust in the tech community.
Is There A Market for Code First Girls?
Code First Girls exists to meet the critical and fast-growing demands of the tech sector in the UK, at the intersection of two challenges: the digital skills gap and gender gap in tech. The UK tech sector is expected to require 3 million additional workers by 2025, yet women currently make up just 22% of IT professionals. This underrepresentation is not just a social equity issue but a talent bottleneck that threatens the UK’s digital competitiveness and economic resilience. The scale of the problem is vast, with the digital skills gap already costing the UK economy £63 billion annually, a figure projected to almost double to £120 billion by 2030.
Code First Girls is designed to respond to these challenges, and with its data-driven, scalable model is producing more qualified women in tech than UK universities, with an 89% job placement rate. Courses are oversubscribed by 600%, which is evidence of the demand and impact. CFG aims to create £1 billion in economic value and provide over one million opportunities for women in tech, delivering on market needs.
What Products Does Code First Girls Have?
CFG’s core Talent offering provides free digital skills training for women and non-binary individuals, helping to close the gender gap in tech. Programmes cover everything from beginner coding to advanced specialisms in areas like software engineering, data science, AI, and product management.
Alongside this, CFG partners with employers through a comprehensive B2B solution. They support organisations to recruit, train, and retain diverse tech talent. This includes building guaranteed hiring pipelines, and upskilling current employees under their “Code First Teams” brand. Whether companies are looking to build junior pipelines, elevate existing technologists into mid-level roles, or reskill talent into high-demand areas, CFG’s employer services provide end-to-end support for building inclusive, future-ready tech teams.
