A tough year for graduate developers - why we do this

The number of applications we receive says something about the market.

When we advertised ten positions a couple of years ago, 744 people applied. For this year's autumn cohort, more than 1,500 did.

That is not because we have become particularly good at marketing ourselves.

A paradox in the industry

Companies need talented developers. Universities educate people with enormous potential. Yet the gap between the two remains unnecessarily large.

Many organisations ask for three years of experience, not because juniors cannot contribute, but because they have limited capacity for training. The result is that graduates are overlooked in exactly the period when they most need a way in.

That breeds distrust, and it is an unfortunate start to the careers of one of Norway's most important groups of workers.

What we actually do about it

Loop Academy hires graduate developers permanently, gives them three months of intensive and targeted training, and moves them on to a twelve-month assignment with a partner.

We take on the training cost that companies do not always have the capacity to carry themselves. In return, they get graduate developers who are already prepared for their specific needs.

We are not a solution for everyone. We take in a small number of candidates each year.

Advice if you are applying right now

Make sure your CV is relevant and up to date. Work on side projects of your own, or keep developing your university projects. It does not just help you perform better technically in interviews, it also shows the genuine engagement we always look for.

And for those of you still studying: make your academic record as strong as you can. It counts for more than many people think.

We are part of the solution, not all of it

We are not going to fix the graduate developer market on our own. That requires more companies to invest in juniors, and more of them to be willing to carry the first cost.

But we would very much like to be part of it.

There ought to be a better route into the technology industry for graduates. We are trying to build it.