WCIT CHARITY REVIEW
CODE 4000
06
Teaching coding to prisoners in the UK
is a European first
Right: Code4000
teaches programming
to prisoners to improve
future employment
prospects
Below: Ash graduated
from Code 4000 and has
now found full-time
employment
Within three
months of
graduating,
Ash has a job
as an apprentice
developer at
Bulbshare in
London
The simplest means of reducing reoffending
is to find work for ex-offenders, but this can
be hard with a criminal record.
Inspired by a programme at San Quentin
prison in California, Code4000 has set up a
life-changing programme at HMP Humber in
the UK, teaching prisoners coding – a skill that
is increasingly in demand in the UK. Getting a
job on release means that not only are
ex-offenders unlikely to reoffend, but also
they can make positive contributions to the
UK economy and society.
change. Within three months of graduating,
Ash has a job as an apprentice developer at
Bulbshare in London, a successful customer
collaboration platform. Ash says, “I feel very
lucky to be given this opportunity to make
something of my life, with so much help from
Code4000 and Bulbshare.”
Code4000 approached WCIT for funding to
help establish employment links between
businesses and the prison.
Michael Taylor, the founder of Code4000 in
the UK, said, “Teaching prisoners coding is an
idea whose time has come, and now, with our
first graduate in employment as an apprentice
developer, we’re proving the case that teaching
prisoners coding skills actually works.”
Having no prior coding experience, Ash
graduated within six months from Code4000
in January 2018. He was able to produce
mobile-compliant websites and had
mastered JavaScript. That he did this in
parallel with a Business Studies degree at the
Open University, and with a diagnosis of
ADHD, demonstrates his determination to
Matt Hay, the CEO of Bulbshare explains
what attracted him to the Code4000 project:
“We were excited at being a partner in
Code4000’s radical approach to solving the
dual challenge of prison rehabilitation and
lack of digital skills in the UK economy. We’ve
simply been impressed by Ash’s positive
attitude and are very excited to have him join
our team.”