About Us
The Code story
Born from necessity not choice.
When growing our IT company, DC Reclamation, with my team, we discovered a real gap in digital skills and had difficulty identifying a training provider that met our high standards.
We didn’t want to just develop people with the practical and technical skills, we wanted to develop their behavioural capabilities, their ability to really add value to our organisation. The kind of capability that’s often referred to as ‘soft skills’ but in an ever developing digital world is absolutely critical in balancing commercial awareness, collaborative behaviour and technical knowledge, in order to drive business strategy and decision making.
And so Code was born, our Centre of Digital Excellence.
We realised we had many of the resources required to start developing talent for our business and that quickly developed into an academy able to support the development of digital apprentices for other employers. We’re passionate about sustainability, including socio-economic sustainability. Our goal is to develop a highly skilled and capable digital workforce and create opportunities for people to begin exciting digital careers.
With the blend of learning we offer, we’re creating the next generation of digital rockstars. People who not only know how to deliver technical work but, most importantly, understand their impact in a business and how to add value to its success. By working closely with employers, we can ensure these talented people are supported in building their career within your business.
Our vision
We believe our world can be more sustainable.
By challenging and changing the way people and organisations think and behave.
We deliver strategies, interventions and solutions to help people and organisations achieve.
Our values
We do the right thing
We positively challenge behaviours
We make a difference
Our behaviours
Customer focused
CELEBRATE SUCCESS
COLLABORATE TOGETHER
Clear leadership
CONTINUALLY LEARN AND IMPROVE
Meet the team
CEO
Simon Howatson
Simon is an entrepreneurial, driven individual and the founder and CEO of CODE. His experience spans across a number of sectors including the digital and leisure industry.
Simon currently leads two other successful businesses including DC Reclamation, a forward-thinking organisation with the sole purpose of reusing, reducing and recycling IT hardware for organisations, to help reduce their carbon footprint. His passion for this business and for sustainability in society inspired the creation of Code.
Simon is passionate about building high quality organisations that help people and businesses prosper.
Apprentice Manager
Paula Pears
Paula has many years of experience in the education and vocational sector.
As a former Director of Operations and Quality Assurance, she has worked across all aspects of ESFA/ESF funding provision, contractual compliance and performance management.
She has spent more than 35 years working in both the public and private sector, giving her a strong track record of financial management, operational performance, and developing client relationships to steer business growth.
Paula’s focus is on quality of delivery, ensuring the learning experience for apprentices is of an exceptional standard.
Business Development Director
Nihad Ćehić
Having worked in the education and not-for-profit sectors for almost a decade as a teacher, fundraiser and through international business development, Nihad is passionate about learning and about helping businesses grow.
He brings a wealth of experience in business development working with FTSE 100 companies and some of the best educational organisations in the world.
Nihad plays a vital role in helping employers understand the process of recruiting and onboarding apprentices, and the valuable contribution they can make to an organisation’s talent development and resourcing strategy.
IT Trainer and Coach
Dean Smith
Dean has significant experience in programming within web and app development across multiple industries. He’s taken his passion for technology and expanded that into a variety of disciplines from networking to software development.
With experience in developing people within their IT careers, Dean’s progression into apprentice training combines his extensive technical, managerial and development skills.
Dean is a skilful trainer, focused on getting the best out of his students to help deliver the next generation of technology experts.