---
title: "Accelerating Android Talent Through Community Bootcamps"
description: "Shopify created Android Bootcamp to address its need for mobile talent while giving local developers an entry point into Android development. The two-day workshop targeted people with at least one year of development experience, especially newcomers to Canada, and taught participants to build a simple quiz app. The curriculum covered XML-defined views, Android lifecycles, MVC, JSON parsing, libraries, and remote data fetching, with six Shopify mentors supporting one primary teacher. After screening 33 applications, the team accepted 14 people—seven men and seven women—and received positive feedback, although participants found the room too small. Shopify reported 100% overall happiness, one attendee later joined full-time, another was set to join in May, and a second bootcamp was being planned for June."
---

# Accelerating Android Talent Through Community Bootcamps

[Shopify](https://yomu.fyi/company/shopify) · Julia Hurrelmann · Feb 27, 2018

**Type:** Problem & solution

## Summary

Shopify created Android Bootcamp to address its need for mobile talent while giving local developers an entry point into Android development. The two-day workshop targeted people with at least one year of development experience, especially newcomers to Canada, and taught participants to build a simple quiz app. The curriculum covered XML-defined views, Android lifecycles, MVC, JSON parsing, libraries, and remote data fetching, with six Shopify mentors supporting one primary teacher. After screening 33 applications, the team accepted 14 people—seven men and seven women—and received positive feedback, although participants found the room too small. Shopify reported 100% overall happiness, one attendee later joined full-time, another was set to join in May, and a second bootcamp was being planned for June.

## Context

Shopify’s mobile-first pivot and launches including Shopify Mobile and Shopify Pay increased the need to build mobile talent. The company also wanted to educate the local developer community and support newcomers who might lack access to educational opportunities.

## Approach / What changed

The team designed a two-day Android curriculum around a small quiz app, recruited through newcomer-focused community organizations, and used screening criteria, info sessions, applications, and a coding challenge to select participants. Six Shopify developers provided hands-on mentorship, while the organizers incorporated accessibility measures and cross-cultural competency training.

## Takeaways

- The bootcamp accepted 14 participants from 33 applications, with an even split of seven men and seven women.
- Participants built a simple quiz app while learning XML-defined Android views, lifecycles, MVC, JSON parsing, libraries, and remote data fetching.
- Accessibility measures included two info-session times, accommodation requests, newcomer-focused outreach, and explicit communication that the event was educational rather than a hiring process.

## FAQ

### How were participants recruited and selected for the Android Bootcamp?

Shopify partnered with In-TAC, World Skills Employment Centre, and Hire Immigrants Ottawa to identify potential attendees. Applicants needed to have arrived in Canada within 10 years, speak English at ESL level 6 or higher, and have at least one year of development experience; selection also involved a resume, cover letter, and coding challenge.

### What did participants build during the bootcamp?

Participants built a simple quiz game over two days. The curriculum introduced Android views defined with XML, lifecycles, MVC, JSON parsing, libraries, and fetching remote data.

### Did the bootcamp lead to hiring outcomes?

The bootcamp was presented as an educational initiative rather than a hiring one. The post reports that one attendee later joined Shopify full-time and another was set to join in May.

**Tags:** [Accessibility](https://yomu.fyi/topic/accessibility), [Android](https://yomu.fyi/topic/android), [Mentorship](https://yomu.fyi/topic/mentorship)

- Source: [Shopify](https://shopify.engineering/accelerating-android-talent-through-community-bootcamps)
- Source URL: https://shopify.engineering/accelerating-android-talent-through-community-bootcamps
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-09-17T14:13:03.622Z

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