Session

Investing in the future: Taking junior developers from good to great

Every software development team needs more than one strategy to grow their technical prowess, simply hiring in, or relying on highly driven developers is no longer an option.

On my teams we use a multi-pronged approach:

1.) Hire young people and grow them on an accelerated path to greatness.
2.) Take risks and hire unconventional, more diverse team members and accelerated their growth.
3.) Invest in already functioning team members by accelerating their growth.

This is my story of building successful teams using this approach.

The Apprenticeship Program!
I'll discuss our experiences starting an apprenticeship program, the wins and hidden gems revealed. We’ll cover the widening gap between a graduate’s knowledge and industry needs and how our company successfully closes that gap.

The Boot Camp!
Let me share the value of a boot camp to adequately prepare graduates and new joiners to cross the divide between their external knowledge and the requirements of the company/team.

The Learning Framework!
We have achieved great success growing staff using a themed learning approach, applying an agile learning framework. I'll reveal our framework and walk you through my experience setting it up.

The Learning Project!
Couple the learning framework to a side project and you will accelerate young staff beyond their peers, in a shorter time and with greater focused growth. I'll share our approach.

The Industrial Phycologist!
Let’s explore how we tap into and grow the soft skills of our staff, using industrial psychology to equip our staff, as well as team leaders, mentors and coaches.

Join me as I share a fresh approach to growing younger team members which ultimately results in;

1.) Accelerated growth
2.) Less burn-out
3.) Higher job satisfaction
4.) More confident teams
5.) Higher staff retention