Deep Dive: How Henry Brings High-Impact Tech Skills to Spanish-Speaking Learners

Henry is a remote computer science school that was born to democratize access to high-quality education in technology in Latin America. Backed by Y-Combinator, Henry is the first 100 percent online and live software academy in the region. Its diverse profile attracts students from all over Latin America and helps those students get jobs in the region and internationally across the USA and Europe. 

Why Attend Henry? An Overview of the Bootcamp

Henry has become a standard-bearer for accessible tech education in Latin America. Through Henry’s affordable income share agreement (ISA) model, students get to attend the bootcamp at zero upfront cost. 

Only once they land a job in tech and earn above a set minimum income threshold do the students start paying back the school. By investing in their education, Henry creates opportunities that enable more people to change their reality, regardless of their previous experience, socioeconomic level, and where they live. 

Henry also offers a hands-on and top-tier web development curriculum validated with experts and leaders from the tech industry. It has a practical approach where students spend over 800 hours coding and creating real-world projects in a collaborative environment that simulates a real work setting.  

Paired with this is a one-on-one career support system that helps students land high-quality jobs in tech. Through workshops and consultancies, students learn the soft skills required by companies in the industry. 

Because of its Spanish-language curriculum, a large portion of Henry’s appeal lies within its ability to foster a feeling of cultural affinity and a sense of community in a Spanish-language environment. This allows students to learn and interact in a language that feels comfortable to them. 

Beyond that, Henry’s diverse alumni body allows them to find jobs all over the world, spanning the US, Latin America, and Europe. In its short life span, Henry has seen more than 15,000 monthly applicants, trained over 2,000 students, and helped around 500 students land a job. 

It is worth mentioning that over 60 percent of Henry’s graduates started their journey to a tech career with zero programming knowledge. Teaching them is Henry’s multi-faceted staff, which consists of a team of designers, programmers, creatives, instructors, and entrepreneurs, all of whom are seeking to accelerate the careers of their students.  

How Students Learn at Henry 

From the initial application process comes Henry’s optional prep course. This free online course prepares students for the Henry Challenge, which is a technical exam that assesses a student’s current level and existing skill set. This helps the school determine the right kind of support and resources to help its students thrive as full stack developers.

Henry strives to give its students the tools and tech knowledge they need to boost their careers. To do so, Henry commits to the consistent simulation of workplace experiences. Its curriculum is steeped with real-world training, providing students with the exposure and preparation required as they advance in their careers. 

The lessons are conducted full-time, from Monday to Friday between 9am to 6pm (GMT -3) or 12nn to 9pm (GMT -3). The classes are held remotely to ensure students from across Latin America have equal access to the lessons. Students have two options for time slots, making it completely up to them to pick the option that suits their schedule best.

A typical day at Henry consists of reviewing previous lessons, picking up new materials, and putting theories into practice. The first hour of the day sees students going through a refresher of topics that were discussed in the previous class. This is followed by lectures, hands-on practice, and standups. 

Students also work on homework and assignments, often in pairs and groups. Throughout the lessons, they have access to instructors who are ready to provide any assistance. 

Henry’s Course Offerings and Curriculum

Henry has curated a curriculum that covers the knowledge and tools necessary “to access a world of opportunities”. Its full stack web development curriculum consists of three major parts:

1. Henry Bootcamp

The first portion is the Henry bootcamp, which is the foundational live introduction to the skills that students will need to form and maximize their path to a new tech career. At this stage, students work with multiple coding languages and programs such as JavaScript, Node.js, React, and more. This portion of the Henry experience is an eight-week intensive in which the main assignments and lectures include exercise-based and example-based work. 

2. Henry Labs

The next portion of the Henry experience is called Henry Labs, where students put their knowledge and newfound skills to the test and collaboratively work on real-world projects. 

Henry Labs is where hard skills and soft skills grow hand in hand. It serves as an avenue for students to expand their knowledge, encourages peer-to-peer collaboration, and prepares students for the workplace environment.

3. Henry Job Prep

The Henry Job Prep is the final stage of Henry. As the name suggests, it’s designed to prepare students for the job search and the workplace. 

It also teaches students how to write an effective resume, how to create a LinkedIn profile that appeals to recruiters, and how to market themselves on other online platforms where potential employers can find them. Finally, the Job Prep section also educates students on the state of the marketplace and closely simulates the tech workplace.

How to Get into Henry Bootcamp

As a general requirement, students looking to attend Henry must fulfill the following requirements:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Have a high school diploma or equivalent qualification
• Own a laptop with access to the Internet or WiFi
• Available to commit to the full-time schedule

According to the school, the ideal Henry student is someone who is not only hardworking but also willing to bring the same level of enthusiasm when collaborating with other students. Aside from the general requirements, Henry looks for prospective students with the passion to pursue life-changing work. Henry’s focus lies within its commitment to be inclusive and welcoming of students from all backgrounds and various experiences.

Henry Tuition and Payment Options

The common theme throughout this article is Henry’s commitment to close the wage inequality gap by making tech education accessible for more Spanish speakers. This also extends to its financing model: the Income Share Agreement. 

Henry’s Income Share Agreement allows students to go through the program at no upfront cost. Once hired, students pay 15 percent of their income in 24 installments or until payments reach $4,000, which, when compared to other bootcamps and tech education options, is much more affordable. 

Henry Student Outcomes: Jobs After the Bootcamp 

After graduating from Henry, students find themselves in fulfilling positions as full stack developers, mobile developers, backend developers, and software developers, among others. This versatility is a testament to Henry’s curriculum. Students can combine their personal knacks with their newly acquired skills to contribute to the tech world in their own way.

Alexander Cuesta was one of the many professionals who left their job when the pandemic hit. He decided it was time to make a career leap and he wanted to explore web development with Henry’s help. Now a full stack developer, Alexander only has positive things to say about his experience. 

“Coming across Henry has been one of the greatest experiences of my life…I’ve learned many new things, much about myself I didn’t know prior, and met incredible people.” Like Alexander, 15 percent of Henry’s students are Colombian, and many find themselves working for remote startups in the United States. 

That’s not all—Henry students reportedly gain three to five times salary growth across Latin America. This success is attributed mostly to Henry’s comprehensive curriculum as well as its career services.

Join the Henry Revolution

Henry offers a welcoming environment where Spanish-speaking students of all backgrounds can explore and tinker with the latest tech tools and languages. To make tech education as accessible as possible, Henry offers a straightforward payment plan that allows students to save the financial worries for later and focus on the most important part first: learning. 

“We want to accelerate the transition to equality through education,” Henry said. “They say that education is the best investment you can make in your life, we say that someone should be investing in your education.” Henry’s doors are open to passionate Spanish-speakers seeking to make an impactful career change.