Corecom Tech Academy, the Leeds-based talent provider building inclusive routes into technology careers, has been named a finalist in The Inclusion Award at the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards.
The fast-growing business tackles two of the UK’s most pressing workforce challenges at once: digital skills shortages and the lack of diversity in technology. Through its Recruit Train Deploy model, it combines paid employment, industry-aligned training and sustained development support for people traditionally underrepresented in the sector, including women, global ethnic majority communities, career changers, neurodiverse talent and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
A people-first model
What sets the Academy apart, the business says, is its people-first approach. While many training providers concentrate solely on technical skills, it builds two years of pastoral support into every Associate’s programme, covering personalised coaching, skills development, industry-recognised certifications and wellbeing support, so that Associates develop the core capabilities needed for long-term careers in technology.
Outperforming the sector on diversity
Having exceeded its initial target of 60 new tech opportunities by 2025, Corecom Tech Academy has grown from 2 to 76 team members and supported more than 150 people into roles across software, data, platform and cloud, cyber security and business analysis, while keeping staff turnover below 5 per cent, according to the company. Against a UK tech sector where diversity levels sit at around 28 per cent, it reports 61 per cent female representation, 42 per cent representation from global ethnic majority communities, 17 per cent neurodiversity and more than half of Associates coming from low socio-economic backgrounds.
That record has earned coverage in the Yorkshire Post, The Business Desk and Prolific North. The Yorkshire Post has profiled the Academy as a Yorkshire firm with social mobility at its heart, aiming to put thousands into work, while TheBusinessDesk.com has reported on its publicly stated ambition to create 1,000 tech roles across the UK and Prolific North covered the moment it passed its original 60-role target.
Strengthening the wider tech ecosystem
The Academy co-designs bespoke academies with industry-leading organisations to address critical skills shortages, delivering strong employer outcomes, repeat business and a growing reputation as one of the UK’s most inclusive and socially driven tech academies, the business reports. Beyond its own programmes, it has engaged over 1,300 students nationwide through community partnerships and voluntary mentoring, alongside sponsorships and participation in industry events including the Leeds Digital Ball, Leeds Digital Festival and Manchester Tech Fest.
By removing barriers into technology, the Academy empowers underrepresented talent to build lasting careers while giving employers access to diverse, project-ready professionals, an approach now recognised by its shortlisting for The Inclusion Award. The winners will be announced at the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards ceremony at Grosvenor House, London, on 10 November 2026.
