The program, which first began in June 2014, will teach classes in web development and design, PHP development and mobile app development.
“IU students are absolutely allowed to take classes,” BTP Director Katie Birge said. “Anybody with a Monroe County library card can do this.”
Taught by mentors from local companies, the classes will teach in-demand skills by the end of the three-month course, according to the group’s website.
Jena Hanes, an IU alumna with a science and education background, went through the code school course last year. She was connected to local businesses through the program and is now working with local companies, including Underground Cupcake and Ellerman Roofing, to build websites.
“It helped provide the next step and connections I needed,” Hanes said. “I’m absolutely thrilled about it.”
Hanes is employed by IU but hopes to transition to coding full time.
Sign-ups are now live and end March 2 when classes begin, according to the group’s website.
Classes will run in the evening Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Wicks Building on 116 W. Sixth St.
Working with the Monroe County Public Library, the BTP has arranged for free memberships to the Treehouse code-learning platform for all Monroe County residents.
“It’s cheaper than a university class,” Birge said. “We’ve had several IU and Ivy Tech students take classes already.”
Treehouse is a web platform that provides tutorials and learning software for aspiring coders, according to the company’s website. A free subscription is available to all MCPL card carriers, but only members of the coding class will have access to personal mentoring as part of the program.
“I would encourage everybody to use Treehouse,” Birge said. “It’s a great service.”
The BTP and its parent organization, the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, intend for these classes to increase Bloomington’s tech workforce.
The BEDC works with local development corporations to encourage economic growth in Monroe County, according to the group’s website.
“We want to package the program in a binder to help other counties in Indiana,” Birge said. “We would like to continue to grow.”
The technology industry is booming in Indiana, with 11.4 percent of the state’s workforce employed in tech and other advanced industries, according to a Feb. 3 report by Brookings.
These rankings place Indiana at fourth in the nation for per capita advanced industry employment, according to the report.
The BTP Code School program has been nominated for the Mira Awards, which take place in May by TechPoint, a group focusing on growing the tech industry in Indiana. The Awards, in their 16th year, celebrate the year’s best in Indiana technology, according to the group’s website.
Along with economic growth, the program provides real opportunities for residents to learn skills.
“I did it,” Hanes said of her first website. “It’s real, it’s public, people can see it, and I can put it in my portfolio.”
