The tech industry doesn’t have a talent problem. It has an access problem.
On Tuesday 19th May, Jordan Biddle from Accelero joined the FinTech Wales Bootcamp for Backend Engineering at Cardiff and Vale College.
The room was full of students from different backgrounds, all exploring what a career in tech could look like. Not “tech” as a vague buzzword. Not the version that makes it sound like you need to have been coding since you were twelve. But the real version. The one with options, routes, choices, transferable skills and actual people behind the job titles.
That part matters. Because for a lot of young people, careers in technology can still feel slightly out of reach. Not because they lack ability, but because they have not always had someone explain the sector in a way that feels human, practical and open.
“What I wanted to show is that there isn’t one fixed route into tech. The sector needs people with different strengths - problem solvers, communicators, organisers, creative thinkers and people who are curious enough to keep learning. You don’t have to fit one narrow idea of what a ‘tech person’ looks like. There are far more opportunities than many people realise.” - Jordan, Founder Accelero.
You can be analytical. Creative. Organised. Curious. Good with people. Good with systems. Good at solving problems. There are far more ways into the industry than many people realise. Sometimes, all it takes is hearing that from someone close enough to the market to make it feel real.
The bootcamp brought together a brilliant mix of people and organisations, including Lily-may Bailey from Planna Ltd, Steve Morgan from Principality Building Society, Christine Chilton from Rock IT, Steph Locke from Nightingale HQ Ltd, Kate Ellaway from Cardiff and Vale College, Alan King from ITAA.ai, Tree from DeepLearn Human Science, Heather Perkins from Bipsync and Jordan Biddle from Accelero.
Each brought a different perspective. Together, they helped open up a bigger conversation about careers, confidence and opportunity in tech.
For Accelero, this kind of work sits close to what we do every day. We work with companies trying to find the right technology and change talent. But that only works long term if more people can see themselves in the industry in the first place.
That starts earlier than a job advert. It starts with conversations like this. In rooms like this. With students who may not yet know exactly where they are heading, but leave with a clearer sense of what might be possible.
Because the future tech workforce is not sitting fully formed, waiting to be found. Sometimes, it needs to be encouraged. Sometimes, it needs the door opened.Sometimes, it just needs someone to say: this could be for you. You can find out more about our role in shaping the Fintech scene in Wales here.