HyperionDev Marketing Director, Dirk Dijkstra
from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – SOUTH African youth are set to reap the rewards of switching to careers that are relevant to the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).
These careers include web, data science or software development.
HyperionDev, a leading tech education company, is celebrating its Class of 2019 tech graduates that have been capped in these fields.
The event was the first of the company’s four Cape graduation ceremonies for 2020.
This comes at a time when companies are desperately seeking computer programming talent.
Dirk Dijkstra, Marketing Director of HyperionDev, said obtaining skills in programming and computer science meant an unrivaled path into a career that is highly mobile and incredibly rewarding, with coding bootcamps like those offered at HyperionDev allowing a fast-track and immersive dive into programming skills at a fraction of the cost of traditional education models.
“It pays to know how to code, and we’re excited at the possibilities for the last of our 2019 graduates,” Dijkstra said.
The official said the results from their Graduate Outcomes Report from 2018 showed that, on average, HyperionDev graduates were able to double their salaries with a change in career to tech.
At the graduation event, students – many of them with no prior experience in programming – graduated with skills in software engineering, web development, and data science.
“We’re taking the opportunity to celebrate the diverse journeys of many of our graduates, who often change careers from a totally different industry,” Dijkstra said.
He cited one student, 25-year-old Leandri Viljoen, a BSc. graduate who worked in Risk and Fraud analysis before she found a job as a developer thanks to her new qualification in Full Stack Web Development from HyperionDev’s specialised coding bootcamps.
“Many students – and even fully qualified, currently employed professionals – are turning to coding to bring more freedom and mobility into their lives and careers,” Dijkstra said.
Another graduate, Lisa Kelbe, had previously completed an MSc in Biochemistry and decided to complete the HyperionDev Software Engineer bootcamp to assist her with her career goal of biochemically mapping pathways in cells in drug development.
According to research from Gartner, South Africa was expected to have the fourth fastest-growing IT market in the world in 2020.
The growth of South Africa’s tech sector has been significant in the last half-decade, and is predicted to rocket even higher, especially with the opening of new data centres and professional web development companies, and a considerable government drive toward the 4IR.
“It’s this technological career evolution that’s opening the window of opportunity to scholars and individuals from all walks of life and careers. Moving to a career in tech is relatively simple and means a future-proofing of your career options,” Dijkstra concluded.
– CAJ News