from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
Cape Town Bureau
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – MEMBERS of the public have a chance to close the digital skills gap by participating in a crowdfunding campaign.
HyperionDev, a leading provider of tech education, has launched the campaign, which will enable it to roll out online coding bootcamps in more regions to help plug the gap locally and internationally.
This comes after it closed the largest educational technology (EdTech) crowdfunding fundraise on a United Kingdom platform- and the largest crowdfund in history for an African-linked start-up.
“Our aim is to cement our leadership in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) market and to secure partnerships with 10 of the world’s top 50 universities to collaborate on bootcamps across the globe by the end of 2022,” said HyperionDev Chief Executive Officer, Riaz Moola.
To date, the Facebook and Google-backed coding bootcamps specialist has teamed up with the University of South Africa (UNISA) and University of Edinburgh.
Talks are underway with over 40 percent of the Russell Group, comprised of 24 world-class UK universities, to provide university-certified online coding bootcamps.
Moola said in the three years preceding the pandemic, there were calls for businesses to partner with universities and other institutions of higher learning. “But since the crisis, the need for this has become even more pressing.”
Coding skills, in particular, are growing in demand both locally and globally.
South Africa, following extensive consultations with business and labour, the Department of Home Affairs recently released the new Critical Skills List.
It is geared towards attracting foreign nationals but also serves as an indicator of the kinds of jobs and skills needed in the country. Among these were Applications Programmer, Software Developer, and Data Scientist.
These have coding as a prerequisite.
The online learning boom presents a massive investment opportunity.
The global online e-learning market is forecast to be valued at over US$370 billion by 2026.
Moola said by being part of the crowdfunding campaign and investing from R200 or £10, members of the public have the chance to make a real impact on the lives of South Africans and others around the world.
“Together, we can plug the digital skills gap,” he concluded.
– CAJ News