KPMG Channel Islands wins award for innovation

Friday 15 May 2015

Business Leaders in Jersey and Guernsey have been recognised in the first ever White Collar Coding Awards.

Over 40 have attended the White Collar Coding Business Leaders’ Challenge course so far this year. The Challenge was launched to help bridge the skills gap in our islands and has been so successful there are now plans to expand the scheme.

Participants learnt computer coding and were able to code an app which they uploaded for people to use. In recognition of their work, the Award for Innovation was given to KPMG, Channel Islands for their e-gaming app designed by Max Hamon in Guernsey. KPMG Jersey Managing Director, Jason Laity collected the trophy.

A team from the States of Jersey won the award for Teamwork, and Elliot Walker, who works in the financial services industry in Guernsey, won the award for best Design.

 White Collar Coding (WCC) is the brainchild of Richard Rolfe and Jordan Love of Codex DLD, a tech business that helps adults to make the most of digital opportunities.

 Richard Rolfe, a former award winning headteacher said they held the awards to help people recognise just how easy it is to gain digital skills, and prove how much can be achieved. "In today’s digital world it’s vital that business leaders make the effort to learn, and often it’s just an issue of confidence. Our awards showed just how easy it can be for people to develop those skills and produce something really worthwhile at the end."

 WCC’s Jordan Love, an EU Codeweek Ambassador and winner of the Jersey IOD’s Young Director of the Year award, said it was great to see the change in attitudes: "When people started the course they were sceptical about whether or not they would be able to do even the basics, but by the end of it they had created their own apps. That’s empowering for people and gives them a good introduction to the world of digital, proving it’s not as insurmountable as it may seem."