Hello and welcome to Code You.

What is Code You?Code You is a free

jobs training program that is available

to anyone who is at least 18, eligible

to work in the United States, and lives

in one of our regions. For a full list of

counties, please check out our website,

codeyou.org.

Code U is provided at no cost to the

student. All costs associated with the

program are funded by grants from the

City of Louisville, Department of

Commerce, and Department of Labor.

The goals of the program are to help you

develop the skills to transition to a job

in technology with the help of weekly

meetups, online learning, and the

development of projects. We also help

provide you with the resources to make

yourself successful with job readiness

activities, workshops, and the assistance

of technical career coaches.

You do not need any experience to

participate in Code You, but

you do need basic computer-based tech

skills, and most importantly, the drive

to answer questions.

Students who succeed in Code You will

need the following; a solid understanding

of computer fundamentals, at least 10 to

15 hours of study time, access to a

laptop or desktop computer,

and a webcam and microphone for

participating in meet-ups. A full list of

computer requirements are available on

our website. If you do not have a laptop

or desktop computer, we do have a limited

number of loaner laptops available that

you might be able to borrow from.

Participants who go through Code You gain

access to basic programming skills,

preparation for a career in technology,

and access to mentors who work in the

industry, as well as dedicated technical

career coaches and a community of

supportive staff and volunteers.

The lessons are self-directed. You must

be willing to learn on your own and ask

for assistance if you need it.

Code You practices a flipped classroom

where you will do the assignments first

and then come to meetups with your

questions. Code You is based

on a non-traditional learning model.

Rather than teachers with a lesson plan,

you will have mentors who are there to

help you submit your knowledge. And

finally, our meetups are blended with

individuals of all different skill

levels. To get started

with Code You, you must first apply, then

be invited to pre-work. Pre-work serves

several purposes, including introducing

you to the types of activities and

assignments you will expect to see during

the program. This also allows us to see

that you are able to complete the

activities and assignments in a timely

manner. Pre-work consists of around

15 hours of learning and knowledge

assessments in open class, as well as

hands-on activities in GitHub and

pseudocode activities.

This is an example of the Learn and Check

format that we use in Open Class. Each

lesson will start out with several

paragraphs on the topic, then a short

knowledge check to evaluate your

understanding. At the end of each module

will be an overall assessment that covers

the main topics you have just learned.

After pre-work, staff will review your

completion and send out a congratulations

e-mail with next step. Students will

complete an additional enrollment survey

and choose their class nights. All

classes are held on Tuesdays,

Wednesdays, or Thursdays from 6:00

to 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

Sessions start three times per year in

January, May, and August.

Depending on when you finish pre-work,

you may be added to our Slack community

while you wait for your class to start.

Orientation will be the week before

classes start, and all students start

with Introduction to Programming.

Introduction to Programming is six weeks

of basic concepts led by staff and

student mentors. Just like pre-work, it

is set up in the Learn and Check format.

The purpose of Introduction to

Programming is to make sure everyone has

a firm foundation of knowledge before

they move into their desired pathway.

After completing the intro module,

participants will choose a learning

pathway that best fits their interest and

career goals. Each pathway consists

of four modules that build on one another

to progress from beginner to more

advanced concepts. We connect

participants with mentors who are

experienced developers and who can give

guidance on what it takes to work in

tech. Participants can expect to spend

around 10 to 15 hours of time each

week on their work, including a virtual w

eekly meet up with mentors and fellow

participants. Which

pathways are available changes from

cohort to cohort, depending on mentor

availability and what the industry can

support in our regions. We will announce

which pathways are available during your

orientation.

A general timeline of the program is as

follows. After pre-work,

introduction to programming lasts six

weeks, and then you choose your pathway.

Most pathways consist of three five-week

modules,and then a four-week capstone

module devoted to building your final

project. Throughout the session, there

will be built-in workshops and other

career readiness activities. We

offer job search assistance throughout

the program and for all of our graduates

afterwards. It's a

tough program, but it is worth it. We

have had almost 2,500 graduates since we

started 10 years ago and have helped over

1,000 students get their first job in

technology. The average starting

wage is between 45 and $55,000 a

year. The many graduates have either

started at 70,000 or earned that

after their first year.

But you don't have to take our word for

it.

Hi, my name is Michael. I work for

Childers Oil Company and I am a web

developer.

We come to work and it's not even like

work. It's like a game because we're just

playing around with either numbers or

playing around with data or just clicking

and playing around with just pretty much

anything and everything. So it's it's

more or less almost like a hobby

now instead of me coming in and like

grinding my eight to five and being

miserable all day. So it's it's really

nice.

Being able to spend time with my family

and be a lot less stressed is is pretty

good. I've I've enjoyed that probably the

most.

Anytime he would find a job that he

thought was good for me, I was a fit for,

he'd immediately send it over and we'd do

like a quick pre-interview if

if I had an interview or anything like

that lined up. And he really, he was,

he was my crutch. I don't I don't know

what else to say about him other than

he's he's really mainly the reason that I

got the job because I would have never

found it outside of him, so.

We have a wide range of people here to

help you succeed, from our community

coordinators and technical career coaches

to our partnership with SOAR.

SOAR is our partner in the 54 counties in

Eastern Kentucky. They have several

additional programs that they offer.

Their Eastern Kentucky Talent Network can

connect you with employment. Their

Generations Program teaches software as a

service. Their SOAR Innovation

program provides assistance with starting

a small business, and every year in

August, they hold the SOAR Summit to

discuss economic growth in the region.

Welcome to Code You. We are glad to have

you join us. If you have any questions,

please reach out to info@codeyou.org.

Thank you and we hope to see you soon.