Bridging the Skills Gap: kood/Jõhvi Graduates Meet Industry Demands

14.01.2025

This winter, kood/Jõhvi marks another milestone, sending 132 graduates into the tech industry, each equipped with the skills and mindset to thrive in today’s dynamic IT landscape. With graduates aged 19 to 66, this cohort showcases the accessibility and adaptability of kood/Jõhvi’s programme.

One of the most notable aspects of kood/Jõhvi is how it prepares students for the realities of the tech industry.

Johanna-Stina Idla, previously an event planner, now a Junior Software Engineer at Reiterate, emphasises the practical skills gained: “kood/Jõhvi taught me to feel comfortable outside my comfort zone. The most important skills I learned, which are highly valued in the job market, are quick learning and fearlessness in the face of the unknown. In that sense, kood/Jõhvi is directly comparable to working in the IT sector – it strongly supports a thirst for knowledge and gives ‘sink or swim’ tasks.”

Markus Oliver Annuk, now a DevOps Engineer at Pipedrive, shares his experience: “Studying at kood/Jõhvi was a useful and life-changing experience. I gained excellent basic programming skills, but equally important in the workplace are the problem-solving and teamwork skills you also learn at kood/Jõhvi.” He chose kood/Jõhvi because of the practicality of its learning method. “New friends are also important – I met an amazing team on the very first day, and we still talk daily,” Markus added.

Deivi Jürgenson, a Junior Developer at SMIT (IT and Development Centre of the Estonian Ministry of the Interior), highlights the programme’s flexibility: “kood/Jõhvi stood out primarily for its learning model and flexibility. Since I also wanted to work during my studies, I didn’t have to worry about attendance and could complete tasks at my own pace. I acquired fundamental knowledge of both backend and frontend – how things work – and gained exposure to various tools and programming languages.”

Recruiters’ Insights

The current IT job market is competitive, and recruiters are noticing the impact of kood/Jõhvi graduates. Grete Lahtvee, IT Recruiter at LHV, notes: “While LHV offers countless exciting and challenging projects requiring top specialists in their fields, in our recruitment process, motivation, work ethic, and openness is just as important as experience. Last year, we were able to offer jobs to several kood/Jõhvi graduates who decided to make a career shift and are now valuable additions to our teams.“

Kristel Kraag, Recruiter at SMIT, emphasises the changing landscape: “The job market is drastically different from what it was a few years ago. While we previously had to search hard for a good candidate for an IT specialist position, today, there are many candidates. Candidates must put in more effort to stand out in this competitive landscape. Successful candidates are those who can distinguish themselves. Recruiters are not looking for long CVs; instead, a concise and impactful motivation letter that highlights the qualities and skills listed as expectations in the job description is far more beneficial.“

kood/Jõhvi’s impact on the IT talent pool is significant. With 178 new software developers graduating in 2024 alone, equivalent to the total output of all Estonian vocational schools’ software development programmes combined, the school is making a substantial contribution to the industry.

As kood/Jõhvi continues to grow, with new schools opening in Finland (kood/Sisu) and southern Estonia (kood/Võru), our innovative programming school is shaping the future of Estonia’s IT industry and providing a reliable source of skilled talent for employers.

Interested in making your life more innovative and your skills more tech-savvy? Take the leap – apply now and see where it can take you: study.kood.tech