This article was first published by Te Hiku Media. It has been republished with permission.

The Developers Institute is a full time course teaching all the foundations for software development and how to become a full stack web developer.

Maraina Latimer, who previously worked in FIFO (inventory) and through lockdown, knew some changes had to be made.

"When we went into lockdown it was a time to reflect on what we were doing in the future. I was looking for a career that I could work remotely and the Developers Institute ticked all those boxes for me," Latimer said.

Ramari Heperi was inspired to retrain after travelling abroad and realising she could have the best of both worlds.

"I spent a lot of time in Bali and I noticed people working remotely in shared working spaces and it got me interested. As my son gets older it should fit in well with my lifestyle and I'll be able to take him to different countries and work remotely for a few years," Heperi said.

The students all believe there is huge potential for Māori to expand in the digital world which will help Māori move into the future successfully.

"I'd like to see other Māori come into a space we don't usually occupy and realise they have the potential to do what they want without any restrictions. Then, they can take those learnings back to their iwi and hapū and help our people move with digital technology."