Metova partners with UCA to launch Arkansas Coding Academy
by July 19, 2016 1:45 pm 296 views
Arkansas-based tech firm Metova is partnering with the University of Central Arkansas to open the Arkansas Coding Academy, officials announced Tuesday (July 19).
The Arkansas Coding Academy will provide education and real-world skills required for gainful employment in the tech and coding sector. A similar private enterprise, the Iron Yard, recently closed its operations in Arkansas.
Arkansas Coding Academy students will learn skills to build flexible user interfaces for multiple device operating systems including Android and iOS, developing and debugging applications, and more.
The Arkansas Coding Academy will offer three month and six month programs and will be supported by four-year degree programs.
“I am glad to see that Metova is partnering with UCA to train the next generation of computer coding professionals. The Arkansas Coding Academy will open a wide variety of opportunities for Arkansans to learn the skills necessary to compete in the fast growing and exciting tech sector,” said Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has championed computer coding in high schools across the state. “Metova and UCA’s coding academy, combined with our state’s efforts to provide computer science classes for all students, will continue to raise Arkansas’s stature as a state ripe for tech sector investment.”
Arkansas-based technology companies such as Metova, Acxiom, J.B. Hunt, Ensono and Rockfish say they have committed to hiring at least 100 new tech employees each year, and the Arkansas Coding Academy could be a pipeline for those new hires.
“We’re honored to partner with the University of Central Arkansas on this program that continues in making Arkansas a formidable tech hub in the U.S.,” said John Adams, CEO of Metova. “In addition to our work together on the Coding Academy, Metova has recently opened a satellite office right on the University of Central Arkansas campus, providing internships and cutting edge opportunities for UCA students.”
With offices in Conway and Fayetteville, Metova develops Android apps and its developers are trained in Objective-C to support the emerging demand for iPhone and iPad apps. Some of the companies listed as Metova clients include Yelp, Dropbox, and eHarmony.
“The Arkansas Coding Academy will not only fill a void in the state for an educated workforce in the areas of technology and computer programming, but will also provide the talent that our new tech startup and existing companies need around the state,” said UCA President Tom Courtway. “This program, housed in our Division of Outreach and Community Engagement, also complements the other programs we offer, and we are proud that UCA is able to deliver a program of this caliber to the state of Arkansas.”