The demand for extracurricular coding opportunities is continuing to grow around the world exponentially, but in the UK there seems to be an especially strong appetite for coding innovation. Progressions within tech in the UK have been made it a top priority for almost every sector, including those that involve opportunities for children – and the award-winning franchise brand is thriving as a result. With these incredible six months in mind, Justin Nihiser, CEO of Code Ninjas, wants to reflect on the brand’s biggest accomplishments since the start of 2022 as well as what his goals are for the rest of the year.
Over the course of the last six months, we’ve recognised perhaps one of our most exciting milestones – it’s somehow already been three years since the Code Ninjas franchise was established in the UK. During this time, we have been able to celebrate our continued expansion to places previously untouched by such opportunities for children. With 39 locations now in the UK, we can continue to make a difference in the engagement and enjoyment of coding nationwide.
Our growth in Scotland has also been a notable accomplishment. In the past six months, we have seen the launch of Code Ninjas Edinburgh, the first of its kind in Scotland. Since this successful launch, our Edinburgh location has been joined by two others – in Livingston and Newton Mearns. Having skilled franchisees like Mark, Dacre and Colin join our network, who are not only excellent at following our proven model, but also passionate about the outcomes for the children in their sessions, is no doubt making a huge difference to their communities.
The need for tech and coding skills is also on the rise in Wales, with Cardiff – recognised as one of the fastest-growing tech cities in the UK – joining the Code Ninjas network. As a coding franchise intended for kids, this has been the ideal moment for us to launch our first franchise in the Welsh capital. By making coding creative and fun, we will teach children skills vital for future opportunities in the city. We need only look at the demand for tech solutions in the turbulence of the last three years for evidence of how important digital literacy is in today’s world. By spreading our influence across the UK, we will continue throughout the rest of 2022 and beyond to help create the problem solvers of tomorrow.
Looking globally, we recently honoured our first female Black Belt – Cameryn. She’s achieved the highest possible honour at Code Ninjas, reaching the peak of the curriculum which will result in her own game that can be shared with numerous others. As a result of her experience with us, she now desires to be an instructor – we call them Code Senseisô – and help other Ninjas – the name given to students – on their path to success! I am also very satisfied with the success we have had recruiting female university students who work as Senseis studying STEM courses. Alongside our female franchisees, they are fantastic role models not only for our female Ninjas, but for everyone that attends our sessions. This will help us continue to tackle the gender inequality gap in STEM subjects, and I cannot wait to celebrate our first UK female Black Belt in the future.
Every Code Ninjas location in the UK and internationally is inspiring kids to shape the future by harnessing the media and technology that they have at their fingertips. Using these incredible resources over the last decade has shown us that it is counter-productive when you do not collaborate and encourage creative freedom, as, without it, no innovation will ever be achieved.
Our brand is not only about learning but also team building and collaborating with peers in a fun environment to help one another and to grow as a community. We have made further inroads as a brand since the start of 2022, and I cannot wait to see what we can achieve as a franchise network in the next six months and beyond.
