Ironhack | Case study
The research behind a year of Ironhack’s thought leadership
Ironhack wanted to publish expert content on tech careers and the skills gap all year, for career changers and for the companies hiring them. We built the evidence underneath: 13 State of Tech reports across nine countries, ready for January.
Foresight & trend intelligenceService | Foresight & trend intelligenceResearch into where culture, technology and markets are heading: trend reports, scenarios and weak signals.- EdTech
- Europe and the Americas
QualitativeMethod | Human StoriesIn-depth interviews and ethnography that explain why people think and act the way they do.
Everything ran exactly to schedule, with no issues and no delays. We are delighted with the study.
CMOIronhack
01
The decision on the table
Ironhack trains people to work in tech, from web development and data to UX/UI and cybersecurity, on campuses in Europe and the Americas and online. For 2023, it wanted to become a reference voice on tech careers and the skills gap, publishing expert content all year across every market where it teaches.
That content had two very different readers. Career changers and recent graduates wanted to know if a career in tech is worth it and which job to aim for. Hiring managers and recruiters wanted to know which profiles to look for. Each country team needed material about its own market, the global team needed the big picture, and all of it had to be ready for January.
02
The questions
- What does the digital economy look like in each market after Covid, with inflation, a slowdown and the Great Resignation?
- How wide is the gap between the tech skills companies need and the talent available, and what can close it?
- Which shifts are reshaping tech work: generative AI, the metaverse, 5G, remote and hybrid work?
- How big is the gender gap in digital tech, and how is it affecting the sector?
- What do career changers go through, and where are the openings in web development, data, UX/UI, cybersecurity and product?
03
Why we designed it this way
Thought leadership only works if the content holds up when someone checks it. Three choices made the reports solid enough to publish from.
Nine countries, one structure
Every country report followed the same index. Local teams could compare their market with the others, and the regional and global reports could add them up.
The same six voices in every market
Tech leaders, opinion leaders, career changers, students, gender experts and Ironhack’s own outcome managers, so employers, experts and people changing careers were heard in each country.
Every claim has a source
More than 1,300 sources, from industry reports to research papers and press. When a claim ended up in a post or a campaign, anyone could trace it back.
04
Under the hood
For the insights team who want to check the rigour.
Markets
Nine countries. In Europe: the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. In the Americas: the United States, Mexico and Brazil.
Interviews
109 in-depth interviews. In each country: 3 tech leaders, 3 career changers, 2 key opinion leaders, 2 Ironhack students, 1 gender expert and 1 Ironhack outcome manager. Plus one interview with Ironhack’s founders.
Desk research
More than 1,300 sources consulted and cited: industry reports first, then research papers, press and specialist websites. Every source is listed with the report that uses it.
Report architecture
Thirteen reports: nine country reports, one for Europe, one for the Americas, one global report and one dedicated gender report. Every report also carries its own gender section.
Analysis
Interviews coded into themes, compared across countries and read against the desk research, so each trend combines what the data says with what people in the market see every day.
05
What we can tell you
The reports belong to Ironhack. What we can share is what a research base this size gives a brand that wants to lead a conversation.
A story for every market
Each country team had its own data and its own local voices, instead of a global deck translated nine times.
Two readers, one source
The same research answers the career changer asking “is tech for me?” and the recruiter asking “who should I hire?”.
Gender, in every report
A dedicated gender report, plus a gender section in all the others, so the topic sits inside every conversation instead of in a side note.
A year of content from one study
Enough depth to feed campaigns, social media and short vertical reports month after month, without running out of things worth saying.
The same mix in each of the nine countries, plus one conversation with the founders. Behind the interviews, more than 1,300 sources.
06
What they received
13 interactive State of Tech reports
Nine country reports, Europe, the Americas, a global view and a dedicated gender report.
A private online hub
Every report, source, transcript and interview video in one secure place, on any device, open to the whole Ironhack team.
A library of 1,300+ sources
Every reference behind every claim, ready for content teams to cite.
Every interview on video, with its transcript
All 109 interviews filmed for the team to watch, with audio clips of people’s own words placed throughout the reports.
07
What happened next
Ironhack’s teams in every country used the research throughout the year: advertising, social media content and short vertical reports built on the data. Each market spoke about tech careers with its own evidence and its own local voices, which is what positioned the brand as an expert in the sector.
One lens, plus a library
This was a qualitative project backed by deep desk research. The next layers would measure how widely each trend is felt, through a survey across the nine markets, and follow how people talk about tech careers online, through social listening. That’s how a yearly report grows into an H3™ trend tracker.
- Human StoriesDone
- Hard EvidenceRecommended next
Everything ran exactly to schedule, with no issues and no delays. It went smoothly from start to finish. Having the whole team access everything so easily and quickly has made things much simpler. We are delighted with the study. Thank you so much, team.
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