Grace Ashiru
At the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, a new training program has been introduced by the Power Learn Project (PLP), Adamian Labs SA, and the start-up business campus of the ICRD Group. The program aims to educate one million software engineers across Africa by the year 2027.
The program was created, which is an initiative to unlock South Africa’s potential for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and is known as #1MillionDevs4Africa. The organizers want to create a large talent pool that is ready to build local solutions that scale globally, support the local and global tech industries, provide employment for young people, and solve pertinent local challenges. This is to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to a “skills revolution.”
According to Lucky Little, who is the founder of Startup Business Campus as well as the chief executive officer and head of partnerships, incubation, and investments, In the knowledge-based economic system of the 21st century, the prosperity of our nations will not be dependent on what is found below the ground, but rather on what is located between the ears.
PLP is an impact organization to achieve revolutionary change for the youth in Africa by empowering them with appropriate technology capability through the provision of excellent, inexpensive, and decentralized technology training. The organization was launched in 2022 in Kenya.
PLP’s chief growth and operations officer, Mumbi Ndung’u, says about the company’s mission: “Our purpose is to promote revolutionary change for the young of Africa through technological skilling.”
PLP’s chief growth and operations officer, Mumbi Ndung’u, has stated that the company’s mission is to “create revolutionary change for the young of Africa through technological skilling.”
The program will provide online training for junior software development, consisting of curated programming languages and a soft skills component in employability, entrepreneurship, and mental well-being, in collaboration with our health partner Afya. Rekod So that the learners can get entry-level jobs in smart technology and be good people in the community.
The participants will not have to worry about the cost of the course because the partners will fully fund it; therefore, their only concern will be to study and take in as much information as they can as they get ready to traverse the digital revolution with us.
PLP is designed to jumpstart careers in software by providing entry-level training that is fully funded, utilizing free data access, and employing a self-paced learning management system over 16 weeks. This course covers a wide range of topics, including but not limited to blockchain 101, databases, data science, entrepreneurial skills, and programming languages such as Python and Dart Programming with Flutter. The learners will then have the opportunity to gain first-hand, practical experience through the use of a module that requires proof of work.
Learners who complete the course will obtain a certificate and become members of a community of young Africans who are trained and prepared to take advantage of opportunities presented by digital technology. AfyaRekod, which will allow them access to their mental health data and support when required, will also equip them with life skills such as financial literacy and health and well-being education.
Learners who complete the program will be provided access to various opportunities and alternative educational pathways through the organization. These may include internships and opportunities to provide proof of work and connections to venture studios and incubators if they are interested in exploring the world of entrepreneurship, as Ndung’u explains.
During the first part of the South African program, known as the pilot phase, PLP hopes to educate 10,000 software engineers in South Africa over four months. Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and Rwanda are the four additional countries the PLP hopes to launch as pilot projects within the next few months. Phase 2 of the program will focus on West and North African countries. As of the first of September in 2022, applications for the scholarship are being accepted officially.
We are working toward realizing the Pan-African ambition of constructing the required capacity to benefit from the fourth industrial revolution. John Kamara, the chairman of the board of directors for the Power Learn Project, says, “We invite our partners and especially our learners from around Africa to join us on this journey of transformation.”
