Software For All Bootcamp
Turning AI and software skills into real jobs.
What is it?
Closing the gap between AI skills and AI jobs
Demand for AI-enabled software skills is growing rapidly across Northern Ireland. Yet employers can struggle to find and shape entry-level talent with the right skills, while individuals can find it difficult to turn their training, qualifications and potential into meaningful employment.
The Software For All Bootcamp is designed to bridge that gap.
It gives employers the opportunity to connect with job-ready, skilled talent and find people whose skills align with their business needs. At the same time, it gives individuals the opportunity to build their skills, become job-ready and connect directly with employers looking for their capabilities.
Individual
Employer
Pathway
From registration to the AI Bootcamp
Step 1
Register your Interest
Once you have registered your interest, you will receive an email confirming you're eligible
Step 2
Create your profile
Create your profile on the Workplus platform
Step 3
Shortlisting
Your application is reviewed, and candidates are selected through the platform
Step 4
Enrolled on AI Bootcamp
Successful candidates move into the AI Workplace Readiness Programme.
Step 5
Employer Interviews
Participants who haven't already secured a placement during the bootcamp are shortlisted again and put forward to interview with participating employers. The bootcamp will run 04 - 15 January 2027
Step 6
Job offers
You can apply to employers who have a vacancy (16-week, full-time paid placements). Organisations will then shortlist and interview.
The Bootcamp
Two weeks. Five pillars. One real challenge.
Two weeks, in person, built around real work.
Week one rotates through five core disciplines; week two puts on a real employer challenge, from first conversation to a working demo.
What the bootcamp cover:
• Engineering: how software gets built, end to end
• AI: building faster, and knowing when to trust it
• Product: working out what's worth building
• Sales & commercial: pricing, outcomes, client needs
• Marketing & distribution: getting your work seen
Step 1
We build future ready talent
Our Forward-Deployed Engineering (FDE) Bootcamp develops the blend of technical, commercial and customer-focused skills modern AI-enabled businesses need and helps you access talent that’s ready to add value from day one.
Step 2
You access Future-Ready Talent
Create one or more entry-level software roles for a minimum of 16 weeks full-time (or equivalent). Meet and interview bootcamp graduates, then welcome the right candidate to your team.
Your application is reviewed, and candidates are selected through the platform
Step 4
Enrolled on AI Bootcamp
Successful candidates move into the AI Workplace Readiness Programme.
Step 5
Employer Interviews
Participants who haven't already secured a placement during the bootcamp are shortlisted again and put forward to interview with participating employers
Step 6
Job offers
Employers who've found their match make an offer for one of the 16-week, full-time paid placements. There's no obligation to hire beyond the placement, but it's often where that decision gets made.
Why get involved?
For Employers
Early access to a pipeline of job-ready graduates. Bring a real challenge and get fresh solutions back, plus visibility through Software NI and Workplus. You commit to interviewing, not hiring.
Missed a placement or still job hunting? Two weeks of building real AI-native skills, a real employer challenge to show off, and a direct route to one of 40 paid placements.
An employer-led programme creating real, AI-enabled entry-level jobs across Northern Ireland, connecting SMEs who need entry-level talent with candidates ready to work in AI-native software roles.
Who is this for?
Two groups: final-year students or graduates on a software-related degree at a Northern Ireland university who haven't yet secured a placement or graduate role, and employers who can create an entry-level, AI-enabled software role.
Am I eligible as an individual?
You'll need to be enrolled in, or have graduated from, a software-related degree at a Northern Ireland university, not currently in full-time employment in a software role, able to attend the two-week bootcamp in January 2027, and have the right to work in the UK.
Am I eligible as an employer?
You'll need an operating base in Northern Ireland and the ability to create at least one entry-level software-related role for a minimum of 16 weeks, full-time. You'll also need to share an email of interest, advertise the role on the Software For All platform, and commit to reviewing applications and interviewing candidates.
Who can get involved?
Employers, primarily SMEs, with the capacity to create an entry-level role, and individuals who meet the participant criteria in Section 4.
What does the bootcamp actually involve?
Week one rotates participants through five pillars, Engineering, AI, Product, Sales & commercial, and Marketing & distribution, working in pods inside a fictional business. Week two puts them to work on a real, anonymised employer challenge: a discovery clinic and build plan on Monday, building with AI-native tools Tuesday to Thursday, then demonstrating their work on Friday.
Will I get a job at the end of the bootcamp?
The bootcamp leads to 40, 16-week, full-time paid placements. If you don't secure one straight away, you're shortlisted again and put forward to interview with participating employers, so everyone leaves with real evidence of what they can do, not just a certificate.
What do employers commit to?
Registering interest in a role that's eligible (minimum 16 weeks, full-time), advertising it on the Software For All platform, and reviewing applications and interviewing candidates. Employers aren't required to hire at the end of a placement, but do commit to interviewing.
Funded by
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