It might seem like a simple question, but it’s no easy task. Even if you do get the job you wanted, what happens when it isn’t all you hoped it would be? Education is time-consuming and expensive, and so is changing your career and getting a new degree - especially when you don’t know if it will pay off.

As any recent graduate can tell you, lack of work experience can render you all but unemployable. Education should lead to better job opportunities. Instead it's leaving graduates with nearly useless degrees and a large amount of debt - all the harder to pay off without the ability to get a decent job. Clearly something has to change.

A statistic we read really stunned us: even if there is enough work to ensure full employment by 2030, 75 million to 375 million workers will need to switch occupational categories due to changes in job demands (which includes jobs being replaced by robots and AI) (report). That’s staggering. With the current education to employment pathway as it is, there’s no way we will be prepared for the future of work.

This begged the question: what is a more efficient system that can be built? How do we make a pathway to prepare our workforce for new jobs and new skill sets? How can we give people the skills they’ll need to be employable in our job climate? This is the problem we are trying to solve.

At Hatchways we believe that on-the-job training is the best way to learn. Learning theory in a classroom is all well and good, but what employers look for in a hire is actual, relevant experience. That's what we strive to provide. We want to change the mentality that students need to pay a huge amount of money to up-skill before they can get a decent job. There are so many useful resources online, easily accessible and designed to grow valuable skill sets - and most are completely free. Hatchways utilizes these resources allowing you to develop practical skills in a hands-on way - without going into debt over it.

What better way to gain valuable, useful experience then on the job? This is why we’ve designed a four month work placement system. Not only does it provide real workplace experience, but it allows for experimentation. You can explore different industries and work cultures all while gaining that very valuable experience - and find what works best for you. At any time during the placement you could be offered full-time work, and the best part is, if you don't like it, you have the freedom to say no and try somewhere else. No more lowering your standards and accepting jobs out of desperation.

Hatchways ultimately is about growth. We want growth for everyone: for job seekers to grow their skills and explore their careers, for companies to grow the size and diversity of their teams, and for the tech industry to grow it’s overall talent pool by making it easier to break into the industry.

How can you know what you’ll enjoy and excel at if you’ve never had the chance to try? No one should have to set aside their aspirations and settle for whatever job they can get to pays the bills. Work shouldn’t have to be a miserable, meaningless trial you have to drag yourself out of bed for everyday. Too often it is. We want to give you the freedom to explore your career and develop your skills without the looming fear of debt and unemployment. We want to help you develop your skills and connect you with a job you’ll love.