Expanding the Flex Initiative Across All Programs

Gather around fans, friends and well-wishers. We have some exciting news to share.

Lighthouse Labs is expanding Flex across all its programs!!!

What is Flex?

Flex is all the great qualities of a Lighthouse Labs Program in a, yes, you guessed it, flexible format that allows you to tailor your tech education to your lifestyle, hobbies and commitments. Switching careers, and learning a new skill, will always be somewhat of a challenging task. Our bootcamps are intensive and designed to get you started on your new career path as quickly as possible. However, the pace and intensity of these bootcamps might only be ideal for some. Personal commitments and learning styles mean not everyone can dedicate 12-hour days to learning the skills needed to transition to a career in tech.

Our Flex programs are identical to our bootcamps, with the difference being the duration and format of the program. Instead of the intensive accelerated 8 or 12 weeks of our bootcamps, the Flex program can be completed over 18 weeks for the Data Analytics program and 30 weeks for the Cyber Security, Data Science and Web Development programs.

While we launched a Flex program for Web Development in March 2021, we are now expanding that access to our Data Science, Data Analytics and Cyber Security Programs.

What does this mean, and why is it exciting? It means that no matter the Program you decide to take at Lighthouse Labs, you will always have the option of learning flexibly, built around your personal commitments and learning style, without compromising the quality of your education and the learning experience. Flex students get access to the same curriculum, Instructor and mentor access, and fantastic lifelong career support from our Career Services team.

With Flex, we're expanding the ways we accommodate the unique shapes of your lives. Through an immersive remote learning format and a balance between lectures, projects, mentorship, and group work, Flex gives you another option for learning.

Why We Are Expanding Flex Across All Programs.

One of the founding and persisting goals of Lighthouse Labs is to expand access to a quality tech education and to ensure that tech-enabled change remains a source of opportunity for all. Part of that work involves removing common barriers faced by our students. While this might include finances - something we constantly seek to address with our scholarships and funded programs - often, this also means finding ways of delivering our industry-leading courses in a flexible format that is a better fit for the lives and learning styles of many of our students.

Why Flex Might Be The Right Choice For You

With the same industry-aligned curriculum, professional instructors and access to industry mentors and Career Services, our Flex programs allow you to balance your learning journey and career transition with other personal commitments.

Some of the key reasons why a Flex Program might be ideal for you include the following:

Learn - Life Balance

Andrea M., a Lighthouse Labs graduate who took the Web Development Flex program and now works as a Web Developer, explains how they used the Flex option to balance their learning journey with their other commitments:

“So I picked the Flex 30-week program over the 12-week bootcamp because I know about my own learning style and preferences…the longer timescale let me continue working and paying my bills full time and seeing to my other commitments.”

This was also the case for Raiza De Guzman -Lighthouse Labs alum who also took our Web Development Flex Program.

“I chose the Flex program because of the flexibility it offers and the pace. …additionally, the part time hours allowed me to take care of other commitments in my life.”

Learning Style

With the addition of our Flex program, we're expanding your options and allowing you to tailor your learning experience to your personal and unique learning styles. This was particularly important to both Andrea and Raiza.

“The pace of the program worked from my learning style. It meant having a bit more time to digest the new material we were constantly learning, whereas with the full time bootcamp, the 12 to 14 hour daily commitment just wasn't for me personally.” …Raiza De Guzman

Earn While You Learn

The Flex Programs' longer duration and flexible schedule mean many of our Flex students can continue learning without quitting their jobs or losing their income. Andrea could continue working and paying their bills and even managed to buy and move into their first home in the same year they took the Web Development Flex Program.

In addition to the flexibility that allows students to maintain their jobs while they learn the skills for a future tech career, depending on the province, our Flex programs are eligible for EI and other government funding opportunities. Please refer to our Financial Guide for full details of funding opportunities available in your province.

Extended Mentor Access

Mentorship is crucial to success when taking on a project as challenging as learning a new skill or switching careers. This support was one of the highlights of the program for Andrea:

“Where Lighthouse Labs shone for me was it focused less on formal assessment and passing tests or having a hard deadline assignments and more on mentorship...knowing that you have other folks in your corner that you can lean into when you get truly, truly stuck and you've been turning your wheels for a little while. I definitely felt that” …Andrea M.

An All-Round Quality Tech Education At Your Pace

To be clear, our Flex Programs are not easier versions of our bootcamps. Both programs share the same rigorous industry-aligned curriculum, so expect to be challenged. The Flex programs give you more flexibility to build your learning experience. For many, this means finally being able to acquire a quality tech education with minimal disruptions to financial commitments, work and family life. For Andrea, the Web-Flex program was a no-brainer, a decision they would make again if given the opportunity.

“I would pick the same format again but I know that like if I had to recommend to someone else, if you're choosing one or the other to really think about when you're learning something new, do you like to go hard and fast and challenge yourself with the speed of things or do you like to challenge yourself with the depth of your learning and having the option to [proceed] as lightly as you need to cover the basics or have the opportunity to really chase your curiosity if your time allows.”

What Next?

It is often said that significant change comes with sacrifice. For many people learning a new skill involves sacrificing some other part of their lives - their jobs, much-desired family time, or even a hobby or pastime. Our Flex initiative says, “you can achieve your dreams of launching a new career in tech - learning the skills required - in a way adaptable to your lifestyle.”

We asked Andrea and Raiza about their experience using the Flex Program to achieve their dreams of becoming Web Developers:

Andrea: "So in my case I would say that I am exceptionally happy with the Flex program. I definitely felt that Lighthouse Labs has helped me feel very ready, not only in terms of the mindset and attitudes of way finding and using a combination of guided resources and self study to develop what you need to develop. But I also feel that the technologies that were covered in editing platforms like the s code and being comfortable using Git and Github to manage versions were incredibly helpful."

Raiza:

"I am satisfied with the Flex program. Since graduating, I was able to apply what we've learned during the seven months to design, build and even deploy my own portfolio website. I walked away with the skills and knowledge to continue building other projects, and also confidently learn new technologies and languages that were not covered during the program."

With the roll-out of our Flex initiative across all programs, you now have the flexibility to make your career dreams a reality. It’s time to take the leap. Visit our program pages below for more details and to begin your career journey.