Software NI and Workplus have launched a two-week AI bootcamp for 50 current or recent software students, giving Northern Ireland employers, particularly SMEs, a route to hire emerging talent with AI skills. The bootcamp runs in January 2027 through the Software for All project, part-funded by TechLocal.

Software NI is a non-profit representative body for Northern Ireland’s software industry, established in 2022 and led by Neil Hutcheson, chief executive.

Workplus, established in 2019 and led by Richard Kirk, chief executive, runs an early-talent recruitment marketplace connecting employers and apprentices, and has helped 100 employers connect with more than 400 apprentices.

TechLocal is a UK Government programme within TechFirst, investing £27 million (€31 million) over four years to create up to 1,000 tech jobs in communities across the UK.

The strategic logic targets an early-career access gap. The bootcamp focuses on students from software-related degrees who may have missed out on placement or graduate opportunities, offering an alternative route into employment.

The structural driver is AI changing how software is developed and deployed, alongside the challenges many students and graduates face in securing a first industry opportunity.

Neil Hutcheson, chief executive of Software NI, said the initiative would help prepare emerging talent for changes across the technology sector.

Richard Kirk, chief executive of Workplus, said the programme was designed to connect employers with talented candidates they might otherwise overlook.

Employers across the software industry and other sectors are being encouraged to identify vacancies and help shape the training.

The programme aims to have participants in paid AI-related software roles after the bootcamp, or when final-year students complete their studies in 2027, while testing a model that could be scaled to support future AI skills and recruitment needs.

The software industry contributes £1.7 billion (€2 billion) annually in GVA to Northern Ireland and employs around 23,000 people across about 2,200 businesses, according to Software NI.

For the sector, the bootcamp shows an industry body and a recruitment platform pairing short-form AI training with direct employer vacancies, aimed particularly at SME hiring.

Source: Belfast News Letter / NI Chamber / Business Eye