The Project:

The Code4SP project seeks to educate socially excluded groups and transform them into competent labor market players capable of reacting to the unprecedented lack of software developers in the job market, thus nurturing a new generation of technicians. The acquisition of technical skills and particularly specialized knowledge related to different programming areas has been one of the main prerequisites for both work and society. Therefore, the transfer of computer programming skills via non-formal education could be considered an efficient way to boost the communities’ socio-economic level.

Through the Coding for Social Promotion (Code4SP) project, the consortium is seeking to respond to the emerging demand in terms of the provision of tailor-made coding training to digitally excluded participants, including migrants, refugees, and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds (dropouts, NEET, early school leavers), through the design and implementation of a concrete operational model, able to reach a policy reform. The target above will be achieved through the upscaling of an already existing good practice, successfully delineated and applied at a local level in Germany by a networked educational community developed by CodeDoor NGO (note: CodeDoor constitutes one of the partners of Code4SP). Together with the dissemination strategy of CodeDoor, this program has been successfully resulting in top-paid programming jobs for asylum-seekers, which boosted their social integration and their socio-economic condition, thereby turning them into role-models in their communities.

Code4SP aims to achieve a real policy reform, thus accomplishing a systemic change and not being solely restricted to a first-level change. The currently established good practices on non-formal education on computer programming have not yet transferred to the Southern European countries, which are simultaneously deemed more economically vulnerable and subjected to an unprecedented high exposure to migratory waves of people with the low socio-economic condition. Accordingly, the consortium includes countries from South West (Portugal) and South East (Cyprus, Greece), and Germany, mainly operating as a good practice provider.

Goals:

The main objectives to which the Code4SP project intends to contribute are:

• Address traditional education institutions’ incapacity, which primarily acts as policy implementers to respond to the demand for coding training provision.
• Code4SP’s main objectives and priorities are in full interweaving with the European Commission’s goals, contributing towards providing tailored education and training to digitally excluded groups, including migrants and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, while in parallel, taking into consideration the labor market needs.
• The target will be reached through the upscaling of an already existing good practice at a local level in Germany, which had; as a result, top paid programming jobs for asylum seekers.
• Enhance employers’ motivation and predisposition for potential employment of individuals that belong to disadvantaged populations, thus breaking any negative stereotypes on this issue.

Results:

• “Guide for the implementation of the original CodeDoor good practice.”
• “Good Practices on coding in non-formal education contexts.”
• “The Coach training.”
• “The initial transferability plan on CodeDoor best practice.”
• “3 National Dissemination Seminars with regional stakeholders on education, training and social support and 3 National Roundtables with stakeholders.”
• “3 National Analytical Reports on the Conclusions of the National Seminars and Round Tables”
• “The Code4SP Implementation Guide.”
• “Code4SP training material package.”

Partnership:

P1: SPEL (PT), P2: C.I.P. CITIZENS IN POWER (CY), P3: CSI (CY), P4:CodeDOOR (DE), P5: ZAUG gGmbH (DE), P6: ACTION SYNERGY SA (GR), P7: SOCIAL HACKERS (GR), P8: CEPROF (PT)

Facebook page: Code4SP

Website: www.code4sp.eu

Duration: Jan 15, 2021 – Jan 14, 2024 (36 months)

Project Number: 621417-EPP-1-2020-1-PT-EPPKA3-IPI-SOC-IN

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.