In the 14th episode of Season 8 of the Meet the Mancunian Podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe interviews Hemant Patel, CEO of Anumana. They discuss Hemant's passion for community support, inspired by his mother and Indian cultural values, and his initiative, the Code Academy. Patel highlights the academy's mission to address challenges in the tech sector, such as lack of diversity, skills gap, and social mobility barriers. The academy offers a free 16-week Python programming course to Manchester schools delivered by University students, targeting students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Hemant also shares the struggles and successes of establishing this program simultaneously with his business, Anumana, and emphasises the importance of relatable role models in inspiring young talent. The episode concludes with insights into the program's impact and Hemant's advice for creating similar initiatives. In Hemant’s own words: “I think the biggest common myth is that you have to have a specific skill set and I guess the biggest common myth is that you have to come from a computer science background to be able to program, or you have had to have previous program experience to program. I think certainly there are a lot of programs out there where people are retraining from completely different vocations into programming.” #Youth #Coding #students #community #Manchester #GM #SocialImpact #NonProfit #Podcast Did you know:  ·     In 2024, the House of Commons Library reported that 18% of UK adults lack the digital skills needed for the workplace.  ·     The Government's 2022 Digital Strategy states that over 80% of UK job advertisements require digital skills, and the skills gap could cost the economy up to £120 billion a year by 2035. ·     Young people face several barriers to entering digital training and careers, including a lack of encouragement, limited awareness of options, and low teaching quality. Many also hold negative perceptions of the tech sector, seeing it as difficult, with long hours and high discrimination. Additionally, retraining is hindered by financial costs and a lack of junior-level roles   Key resource: Anumana Code Academy   Time stamps of key moments in the podcast episode & transcript: (00:55) Introduction to Hemant Patel and Anumana (01:42) Finding Passion for Community Support (02:46) The Birth of Code Academy (06:33) Challenges in Building Code Academy (07:50) Scaling and Sustainability of Code Academy (09:20) Impact and Success Stories (12:31) Debunking Myths in Coding and IT (13:36) Advice for Starting Similar Movements (18:25) Personal Reflections and Life Lessons (19:49) Signature Questions and Closing Remarks Listen to the episode and read the transcript on www.meetthemancunian.co.uk