While there is no shortage of eager and ambitious job seekers in the market, the majority of talent may not be equipped with the technical competency required, resulting in intense competition for a small pool of highly sought-after candidates in the region. Yet traditional higher education, where students typically spend multiple years attending full-time tertiary programs - often at exorbitant costs - is simply not capable of meeting the practical demands of the innovation economy, and more importantly, are not accessible for most individuals in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia.

The global pandemic has upended labor markets and amplified the widening tech skills gap. As companies continue to navigate digital transformation, the demand for software developers across Southeast Asia is stronger than ever. Vietnam is a particularly attractive market for coding bootcamps as it has been solidifying its position as a tech hub for the region and attracting foreign investments. Multinational companies and regional startups are increasingly setting up tech teams in Vietnam, leading to a shortfall of 500,000 IT personnel in 2021, including 100,000 engineers.  

However, online education is not without its challenges. Even before the pandemic rendered online learning a default option, there had been years of growth in higher education alternatives. The problem with most online courses is that asynchronous learning makes it difficult for students to stay motivated and achieve learning outcomes, leading to high attrition rates.

This is where CoderSchool comes in with its coding bootcamps that deliver offline-quality technical training online, at scale. CoderSchool bridges the gap by providing affordable  full-stack web development and machine learning courses to students looking for new career opportunities, while supplying quality developers to employers to fuel the digital transformation of the region. Since launching in 2015 in Vietnam, over 2,000 students have gone through CoderSchool’s programs. The company boasts an impressive over 80% placement rate and is beloved by its alumni, with graduates going on to land software engineering jobs with the likes of Shopee, Microsoft, and Tiki.

Having run offline coding classes for several years, on top of a decade-long career in Silicon Valley, Charles understands the importance of synchronous learning, optimal student-teacher ratios, and fostering a supportive learning environment in order to ensure students actually learn. Strong emphasis is placed on tracking student engagement, including homework submissions, class attendance and weekly surveys, so that quality is never sacrificed even as the company scales. CoderSchool has formed an active alumni network, which facilitates project-based learning, teacher acquisition, as well as job placements. There is also a lifetime retake policy, enabling students who learn at different paces to redo the course as often as they need.

This is only the beginning of CoderSchool’s journey. We have known Charles for several years, and watched him set the foundations of his business and build a reputable brand in Vietnam. Charles is an incredibly thoughtful and humble founder, driven by a deep-rooted belief that coding is the language of the future and everyone should be given the opportunity to learn how to code. Together with our existing investments into Glints for talent placement and ErudiFi for education financing, we are excited to work with CodersSchool to transform the modern education landscape across the region. We are thrilled to back Charles and his team in taking on the big challenge of scaling coding education across Southeast Asia.

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To read our press release for this investment, click here.