CodeSquad aims to address two problems: the lack of opportunity for many young adults who are disconnected from work or education after high school, and the lack of programmers to fill many open jobs in the technology industry. It does this by providing a paid 6-month training program in both soft skills and technical skills like web development, UX design, and mobile apps to low-income students. This creates a new talent pool for tech companies, while empowering students by teaching them skills as a programmer.

1. • Lack of opportunity.
More than 6 million young
adults in the United States
are disconnected from the
economic mainstream –
they’re out of high school,
but they’re not in college
and they’re not working.
CodeSquad solves 2 problems at once:
• Lack of programmers.
Companies are desperate to
fill job openings in
technology. There are
~150,000 new openings in IT
each year, but less than
14,000 CS grads to fill them.
Meanwhile, IT job openings
will grow 60% faster and earn
more than twice the national
average (ACM, BLS).

2. The technology opportunity gap
Many communities do not have access to technology skills:
• Only 13% of US high schools offer AP computing courses
(mostly electives)
• Just 30 in every 10,000 low-income 9th grade students go on
to earn a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field
• In California, home of Silicon Valley, 56 percent of high schools
don’t offer any computer science courses at all.
Sources: CodeEd, TechCrunch, YearUp

3. CodeSquad students = new talent pool
• Low-income students attend 6 months of paid training in soft
skills like effective communications and corporate culture, as
well as technical skills
• Intensive, in-class technology training allows students to
select different tracks: product management, UX design, back-
end web development or mobile apps
• High-stakes environment challenges students to commit to a
rigorous curriculum and professional goals
• Regular check-ins and ongoing mentoring

4. CodeSquad aims to empower students
• Silicon Valley aphorism that in the future, people will be
either programmers themselves or forced to live by the rules
that the programmers write
• CodeSquad aims to bring low-income students into this
priveleged group of programmers

5. Curriculum
• CodeSquad students must join a team and build a software
product including concept, front- and back-end development,
user testing and ongoing feature-upgrade path
• Every student learns basic web development as well as
rudimentary UI design, back-end programming and mobile
apps
• Interested students can follow special tracks

6. Timing is right for CodeSquad
• Aug 2014 - Google opened 300,000 square foot office in
Kendall Square, Cambridge
• July 2015 - Google announced additional 50,000 square foot
lease in Kendall
• Microsoft, Amazon have large new offices in Kendall Square
• Facebook, Fitbit and Amazon offices in Cambridge/Boston are
specifically engineering offices
• Coding academies are popular; indicates demand for IT skills
• National conversation about diversity in tech companies