by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – GLOBAL technology training and skills development provider, ALX, has set an ambitious target to expand its reach and train 750 000 learners throughout Africa in 2024.
Of these, 10 percent will be from South Africa, the continent’s most diversified economy.
In 2023, ALX has recruited 17 000 learners across the continent, with 15 000 of them already securing work opportunities.
Building on this momentum, ALX believes it is taking a significant step towards reshaping the continent’s tech education landscape.
“Radical shifts in African tech education are essential to meet the growing global demand for digital skills,” Divesh Sooka, ALX General Manager of South Africa, said.
“The need to address the massive global demand for tech skills and rampant youth unemployment not only in this country, but the continent as a whole, requires intensive tech education training that can be rolled out and scaled quickly.”
ALX’s vision extends beyond immediate skill-building.
The ambition remains to equip, by the year 2030, some 2,5 million young Africans with digital competencies and foster a new wave of digital entrepreneurs.
In the last year alone, 3 500 entrepreneurs have been nurtured through ALX Ventures, each employing an average of five to seven people.
ALX’s curriculum is designed to meet global job market demands, including crucial soft skills, with a particular emphasis on coding, Amazon Web Services and Salesforce skills.
ALX has introduced a three-month foundational digital skills phase in its programme so that every learner, no matter their education background can start on an equal footing.
Course administration costs are kept at a monthly rate of US$15 and total fees depending on the programme duration.
Barriers to entry have been minimized with a one-off administrative fee.
Fred Swaniker, Africa Leadership Academy founder and Chief Executive Officer, said ALX programmes and the former’s flagship Software Engineering course, are aligned with the artificial intelligence revolution and the high demand for data scientists and analysts.
“(This), along with our drive to hire people with cloud computing skills, which has been recognized as one of the most in-demand hard skills in the tech market,” Swaniker said.
ALX operates eight hubs across the continent, with such facilities located in Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa.
– CAJ News