On Oct. 20, the Ethereum layer-2 Base network announced that it’s launching an eight-week training course to turn traditional software developers into blockchain developers. Called “Base Bootcamp,” the new program doesn’t cost anything to attend. However, it’s designed for “mid to senior level Software Engineering individual contributors,” and students must fill out an application and be accepted to enroll. Less than 20 students will be accepted into each “cohort,” and the team will stop accepting applications on Oct. 27, the announcement states.

Introducing Base Bootcamp, an eight-week program designed to turn experienced developers into smart contract developers

Base Bootcamp will make learning interactive and collaborative, with support from experienced engineers and dedicated mentorshttps://t.co/gecI1FMpzT

— Base ️ (@BuildOnBase) October 20, 2023

In its announcement, Base claims the program is necessary because most software developers still do not know how to build Web3 apps. “Today, there are fewer than 30,000 onchain developers,” it states, “compared to nearly 30 million software developers.” This implies that only 0.1% of software developers work in Web3.

Base released an online training program called “Base Camp” earlier in the year, which was open to anyone. But it decided that this wasn’t enough, as “keeping the momentum to learn a complex new skill alone can be difficult.” It says Base Bootcamp will provide more support for developers who don’t want to study alone.

Related: Coinbase open sources code for layer-2 network Base

The Base Bootcamp will pair each student with a mentor with whom they will meet each week. It will also give them access to a group of Coinbase and Base engineers who will be available during office hours to answer questions. A private Discord server will be created to allow students to communicate with each other and to Base engineers, and additional assignments will be given that will be graded by members of the team. At the end of the program, students will be required to create their own Web3 app and present it to other students.

Although the program does not charge tuition, students must provide a deposit of 1 Ether (ETH) to ensure they finish the program. Base says this deposit will be returned to the student upon graduation.

The lack of qualified Web3 developers is a commonly reported problem in the industry. Some Australian educators have suggested teaching Web3 development in high schools as a means of combating the problem. Other companies have tried to create tools to make Web3 development more simple. For example, Circle recently released a set of tools that allow developers to deploy contracts using familiar Web2 methods.