Living in London, David Adewole took a job delivering pizzas for Domino's after being made redundant during the pandemic – but it was time for a fresh start.
He moved to Manchester in the summer of 2020 and started working at the Covid test centre at Central Retail Park after another job had fallen through. His 10 years of experience in hospitality - as a waiter and kitchen porter - were not much use while Covid restrictions were keeping bars and restaurants shut.
But by December, David had decided that he wanted a job in tech.
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"I said that out loud and Facebook was listening," the 27-year-old recalls. "They sent me an advert that was like, 'look into Skills City'."
Growing up, David was always the person to go to when it came to technology, but he did not know where to find the opportunities to make a career out of it. So when he found out about the fully-funded digital skills bootcamp at HOST - the Home of Skills and Technology - in Media City, he signed up straight away.
Run remotely at the time due to Covid restrictions, David would tune into lectures during lunch breaks while working at the test centre in Manchester. And after completing the 12-week Amazon Web Services course, he was offered a job as a junior tech consultant at IN4 Group which operates HOST and was soon promoted to become an events coordinator for the company.
Now, after working at HOST for 16 months, he's got a job in tech for Deliveroo.
"It's been so funny, this journey," he said. "It's like I'm doing it all again, but this time on the other side."
In his role as a restaurant onboarding associate, David helps new companies joining the online food takeaway app by making sure all their tech is working. He believes his background in hospitality helps him understand the industry, while the digital training he did and experience he got helped 'open up doors'.
However, beyond just learning how to use certain software in the bootcamp, he said the soft skills learnt during the course have been the most valuable.
And, being in an environment of like-minded people was 'inspiring', he said, even though the course was all carried out remotely via video conference.
"I moved to Manchester during the pandemic," he said. "Things were a bit quiet. You couldn't meet up face to face, but that community was being built online.
"When things opened up again it was great to see a tight-knit community – people being open and honest and just wanting to help out however they can. Compared to London, it feels less dog eat dog."
During the summer, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) secured £7m from the government to provide more skills bootcamps like this. The training aims to help people who are looking to get onto the career ladder, transition back into work after a break or access progression opportunities.
These skills bootcamps will support people aged 19 and over from priority groups including low paid and unemployed people, veterans and ex-offenders as well as targeting women, members of ethnic minorities and over-50s. More than half of the money secured is earmarked to improve digital skills in a range of industries – a gap consistently identified by employers since Covid.
It comes after the GMCA took part in a government-funded pilot in 2018, focusing particularly on providing accessible routes into digital employment. As a result of the pilot’s success, whereby 53 pc of learners were successfully supported into employment, the Department for Education is rolling out and scaling up more varied skills bootcamps nationally, according to the GMCA.
The funding awarded to the GMCA will go towards offering training in the city-region across a range of industries including in construction, manufacturing and the green economy with new fully-funded courses announced this week.
Announcing the news on Tuesday (November 8), Bury council leader Eamonn O’Brien, Greater Manchester’s lead for education, work, skills, apprenticeships and digital, said: "Skills Bootcamps are a highly effective way to learn skills in a range of in-demand sectors including construction and green energy.
"I urge more residents to take advantage of these fully-funded courses and get on the path to well-paid careers. It’s also a key to levelling up the economy and attracting inward investment.”
Asked for his advice to those thinking about doing a skills bootcamp, David said: "Don't be afraid – especially if you're from a disadvantaged background. I'm a black male and the representation of black males within the industry is not great – but it's about taking that risk.
"There's a range of different people I learnt from on the course – people returning to work, people who are low paid or unemployed. It's all fully funded. It doesn't cost anything. All it costs is your time.
"That investment of 12 weeks could be the investment of a lifetime."
For more information about Skills Bootcamps, visit: www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/skillsbootcamps.
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