Denmark: Hack Your Future

Hack Your Future is a non-profit organisation that aims to train refugees, asylum seekers and other disadvantaged groups of third-country nationals (TCNs) to become web developers, opening the doors to an in-demand job market.

Denmark has more web developer job vacancies than there are skilled applicants to fill the positions, while many refugees end up in low-skilled, low-paid job despite having the relevant skills or potential to meet the needs of employers of web developers. This initiative is therefore a 'win-win' for refugees, companies, and the Danish state more generally.

Hack Your Future started as an initiative in the Netherlands in 2016, and then in Denmark in 2017. To date, there are 6 sister organisations in Europe and 1 - in Canada.

Project Goal

HackYourFuture aspires to be an inclusive, self-sustained community of tech professionals, promoting the employment of students within the industry and bringing more diversity to tech.

The initiative addresses the need for more web developers and diversity in the tech industry in Denmark by offering relevant tech education to individuals facing challenging situations that prevent them from fulfilling their professional potential. 

Key aspects of the initiative's approach include:

• the ultimate goal is not graduation, but employment
  teachers and mentors are professional web developers wanting to share their knowledge and passion for technology
• everyone is treated equally, with acknowledgement of the different backgrounds of the students. Equal opportunities are offered to everyone within a supportive and inclusive learning community
• the screening and selection process for participants considers both technical skills and the degree of marginalisation of the applicant
• the initiative aims to change the perception of what its students can achieve in Denmark through ambitious and meaningful projects, creating and celebrating role models to inspire future generations
• an overarching goal is to have a lasting impact on student participants and their social and professional surroundings

How it works

The target group is people with a refugee background or other marginalised migrants who are interested in IT, and admission to the programme requires no particular technical competency level apart from being familiar with the internet. Students are chosen after an application assignment which requires 30-40 hours of work. The course - delivered in English and lasting 8 months - is demanding, but the reward is very high: many students succeed in finding employment afterwards. 

The application process runs three times a year, and courses take place in the two largest cities in Denmark. Classes are delivered on Sundays only, and students are expected to spend around 25 hours per week on class preparation and self-learning.

The course itself is free of charge, supported by private donors and companies.

Who benefits

Among those who found employment after graduation, 75% were women. This is in stark contrast to the fact that among refugee women who pass through the official Danish integration system and job training run by local municipalities, less than half find employment. 

Participants are all non-Danish, most of them refugees or migrants aged between 20 and 50, with the majority being under 30. 68% had been in Denmark fewer than 5 years when they enrolled in the programme. Economically, participants fall into one of the following groups:

• people receiving publich unemployment benefits
• people supported financially by their family
• people who are supporting themselves financially, most often in unskilled jobs

Funding and resources

The project is non-profit, and the professional mentors (teachers) work for free. Since 2018, the project has been supported by the A.P. Møller Foundation, and a number of private companies have also sponsored or collaborated in different ways. At the moment there are 3 full-time and 3 part-time employees. Hack Your Fututre's annual budget in Denmark is 2 million DKK.