Baidam and Deadly Coders join forces for First Nations STEM students

First Nations IT provider Baidam has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Deadly Coders, an Indigenous-owned not-for-profit dedicated to engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in STEM.

This alliance formalises a shared commitment to closing the digital skills gap and creating sustainable career pathways for Indigenous peoples across Australia.

Baidam will leverage its commercial recruitment arm to fund student placements in Deadly Coders' job-skilling bootcamps, removing financial barriers for aspiring Indigenous technologists.

For every 10 job placements made by Baidam’s recruitment team, one student placement in the Deadly Coders Academy, valued at $20,000, will be funded.

Students placed at the Deadly Coders Academy will receive eight weeks of industry-relevant technology training, a four-day-per-week paid learning model, and exposure to optional internship opportunities.

“The MOU with Deadly Coders formalises our strategic collaboration, which is focused on our shared ambition to create meaningful impact and help bridge the technical inequity gap," said Anita Sheridan-Roddick, Baidam’s national sales director.

"We believe it will create remarkable new career opportunities for First Nations students.”

"By linking our commercial recruitment success to the Deadly Coders Academy, we can ensure that when a customer chooses Baidam, they are directly funding a life-changing opportunity for a young Indigenous person," Beau Hodge, Baidam's COO, said.

Deadly Coders has a mission to deliver digital technologies education to every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student in Australia within the next decade. 

“Industry and government are telling us there is a growing gap between traditional university pathways and the rapidly evolving needs of the Australian tech sector,” said Andrew Brodie, director and GM at Deadly Coders.

“Universities are not keeping pace with industry requirements, which is why alternative, community-led pathways into tech careers are more important than ever. Our partnership with Baidam proves these models can deliver real employment outcomes.”