Inaugural all-tech training for 32k African learners

This past week marked a continental shift in tech education in South Africa (SA) as close to 1500 young people joined over 32,000 new tech learners in eight African countries in a monumental celebration to kick-start their training at ALX, the leading tech training provider in Africa.

For the first time at such a scale, ALX’s in-person Karibu (meaning ‘welcome’ in Swahili) ceremonies took place simultaneously in eight cities across the continent: Casablanca, Morocco; Cairo, Egypt; Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; Kigali, Rwanda; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Nairobi, Kenya; as well as Johannesburg, South Africa.

With orientation activities taking place throughout the week, the Karibu ceremonies welcomed thousands of new learners to ALX as they commenced their training in a suite of newly launched all-tech programmes. The programmes include Data Science, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, and Salesforce Administrator, along with ALX’s new blended learning Software Engineering programme.

This first cohort of learners will receive training in some of the most in-demand skills of today, preparing them to launch and grow their careers in the global digital economy.

“By the end of this century, 40 per cent of the world’s population will be African. Yet Africa only has 3 per cent of the world’s software engineers. Given its abundance of young talent, we see Africa as well-positioned to solve the massive global shortage of technology skills. Our mission at ALX is to harness this wealth of human capital by developing millions of digital leaders from the continent in the next decade,” says the founder of ALX and CEO of African Leadership International, Fred Swaniker.

In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, ALX is building the largest pool of trained technical professionals in Africa, thereby addressing the worldwide tech talent shortfall that is predicted to exceed 85 million people by 2030.

Over 85,000 learners have graduated from ALX since 2021, and approximately 85 per cent of its graduates have found employment within six months of completing their training. Recognising the importance of ongoing career development, ALX offers its graduates access to a programme of lifelong learning, mentorship, and career opportunities.

Reeta Roy, President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation says, “With Africa’s population set to double to over two billion over the next 30 years, with 15 to 20 million young people joining the workforce annually, the need to deliver high-quality, relevant skills training at scale has never been more urgent. Platforms like ALX are using the power of technology to provide a new kind of education that connects to a measurable need in the market. This is emblematic of the approach we at the Foundation take under our Young Africa Works strategy, which seeks to enable 30 million young people to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.”

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to revolutionise industries and disrupt the workplace, soft skills will become increasingly important for professionals looking to future-proof their careers and complement the hard tech skills they acquire. In an automated workplace, skills that machines cannot easily replicate – such as critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, communication, collaboration and leadership – will have even greater value. Research conducted by the Stanford Research Institute and the Carnegie Mellon Foundation found that 75 per cent of job success today depends on soft skills.

“In today’s world of AI and Big Data, young people need to be prepared for uncertainty; they need to be agile and adaptable. ALX’s new all-tech programmes have been built around our belief in the importance of reimagining and redesigning education to meet the challenges and opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Our innovative blended learning model is geared towards developing tech leaders and innovators with the most in-demand hard and soft skills to solve the problems of this century,” concludes Swaniker.