TEES TECH AWARDS 2020
Tech for Good
SPONSORED BY
Winner
Code 4000
Tech for Good winners Code
4000 are turning lives around by teaching computer coding skills to offenders at Stockton ’ s HMP Holme House .
It ’ s just the second prison the firm has worked in , but with plans to launch the scheme in Wandsworth next , Jim Taylor believes the scheme can impact thousands of lives .
The skills gained give offenders an opportunity to find meaningful employment on release , reducing the risk of reoffending . In fact , all of Code 4000 ’ s graduates are engaged in some form of employment , education or training .
“ In a country where 60 per cent of offenders will reoffend within a year of their release , we ’ re incredibly proud that none of our graduates have reoffended ,” he said .
“ We think this could be massive . Holme House is only the second prison we ’ ve worked with but there are 120 prisons around the country
“ The day we get one of our Holme House graduates into one of this region ’ s many tech companies will be real milestone for us , and I ’ m sure it ’ s going to happen sooner or later because there ’ s a tech skills shortage .
“ It ’ s a tragedy that some of those we work with are wasting their days within the criminal justice system because they are dedicated , enthusiastic and talented individuals who would seize any opportunity to work with open-minded digital firms with both hands .”
Mike Racz , CEO of Racz Group which owns 29 Domino ’ s franchises , presents the Tech for Good award to Jim Taylor from Code4000 .
Finalist ITCHYROBOT Guisborough-based iTCHYROBOT has developed a competency portal for Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team , which protects members of the public using our region ’ s hills .
The competency portal allows the team of 50 volunteers to capture and analyse all their training data in one location and make informed decisions about their future training needs and make-up of hill parties on real incidents .
It also removes the guesswork from any deployment by centralising all team member training into a single location , with reports and mapping to assist with decisions .
The invaluable system , which has taken hundreds of hours of development and support , is developed , hosted , maintained and updated free of charge by the iTCHYROBOT team .
Finalist Adeo Group Stockton-based ADEO are justifiably proud of Halo Angels – a progressive web app they developed for Middlesbrough charity Halo Project .
The app offers easy-to-access information and features an instant chat system , allowing victims of honour-based violence , forced marriage and female genital mutilation to rapidly get in contact with the charity for help , or to search for and contact their local police station .
The app is inconspicuous , blends in with a home phone screen and has allowed people on Teesside ( and throughout the UK ) to receive real-time advice , speak to a virtual advisor for help , report hate crime and gain invaluable support .
Sponsor ’ s message
As the owner of pizza franchises across the Tees region and beyond , Mike Racz felt it was a perfect fit for the Racz Group to get a slice of the Tech Awards .
Mike ’ s firm owns the Domino ’ s franchises that delivered pizza to all of the homes and businesses of the awards sponsors and their guests on the night of the virtual event .
He broke off from a holiday in Portugal to announce Code 4000 ’ s success via Zoom , saying : “ People maybe don ’ t think tech when they think of Domino ’ s , but 90 per cent of the orders we receive come through e-commerce – everything is digital so we ’ re a tech business too .
“ It was great to be part of the Tees Tech Awards , especially with the virtual element because I hadn ’ t seen anything like that before . Tees Business had to reinvent the event , so it was a definite first .”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 29