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Fund the next generation of digital talent

For grant makers, trusts, foundations and companies who want measurable change. Your support turns into trained people in work, in the UK and in Ghana.

graduates freelancing full time

Why it matters

Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn't, yet.

Digital skills open doors to well-paid, flexible work, but too many people never get the chance to learn them. In the UK, young people outside mainstream education and adults changing career are often left behind. In Ghana, more than half the population is under 25, and good jobs outside the major cities are scarce.

Shapeways.io closes that gap with practical training, real work experience and direct routes into paid work.

Ways to support

Choose how you want to make a difference

Fund a cohort

Cover places on a UK or Ghana programme for learners who couldn't otherwise take part.

Equip a classroom

Donate laptops, monitors or software licences to our training rooms.

Back the Ghana academy

Help complete and run our purpose-built tech academy in Accra.

Corporate partnership

Align your social responsibility goals with measurable skills and employment outcomes.

Offer placements

Give graduates remote or in-person work experience with your team.

Mentor or volunteer

Share your industry expertise through mentoring, talks or teaching support.

Your priorities

Where our work meets your funding goals

We work with funders to design programmes, set clear targets and report on results.

Digital inclusion

We bring people who are often left out of the tech industry into it: learners without degrees, young people outside mainstream education and adults returning to work.

Youth employment and progression

Our programmes lead to freelancing, remote employment and further study, and we track what learners go on to do.

Social mobility

Low-cost and funded places, flexible payment and practical skills that pay give learners a route into well-paid work.

Women in tech

Our Ghana academy aims for 65% of recruits to be women, tackling the gender gap in the industry.

International development

In Ghana, where 57% of the population is under 25, we connect local talent to UK and US employers through remote work.

Proof it works

What we've achieved so far

learners trained in two years

0 +

graduates now freelancing full time

websites built for real clients

countries, one standard of training

“

We have been working with Shapeways.io for some time now, and we are always impressed with how they are able to engage our young adults on their programmes. All our engagement with Shapeways.io has been delivered online via Zoom. We started this initiative when the lockdown happened and have continued this partnership with the team ever since. Many of our students have gone on to secure internships with companies in web development, graphic design, and games development, whilst some have also gone on to become teachers at Shapeways.io.

Sarah

The King's Trust

Organisations that already back our work

Start a conversation

Let's talk about partnership

Tell us about your organisation and what you’d like to achieve. We’ll come back to you as soon as we can.