Akenrose Training & Consulting Limited, in partnership with the Young & Inspired Mentoring Initiative (YIMI), launched the TechUplift Program to enable enthusiastic Africans to break into tech.
The TechUplift program empowers young and ambitious African talents between the ages of 45 and younger to break tech careers or even advance, regardless of socio-economic background and experience.
In an interview with Techpression, Mr. Tolulope Adegbemile, the program and partnerships manager for the TechUplift Program, shared the plans they have in place for African space.
“We are not just looking for people who only studied computer science; as long as you are passionate, show resilience and curiosity, and want to make a living out of tech, you are welcome,” he said.
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Is the tech space crowded already?
Everybody already knows the importance of technology, and a lot of people are already interested. This is why we have to ask, ‘Isn’t the tech space crowded already?’
That’s an interesting question and a little tricky. I wouldn’t say the tech space is crowded; I would rather say it has become more competitive than ever because there is a low barrier to entry. Anybody can go on Coursera and Udemy, as young as seven years old, and take courses. Even YouTube, I mean, that’s a free university on its own. This makes it competitive.
However, we live in a world where the problems never end. The evolving nature of tech will not give room for overcrowding. And for African talents, we still have a lot of problems developed continents don’t have. These foreign governments still seek innovators from Africa; they want to come and do something for the economy. And that is still amazing. The problem just lies in the fact that we have a wide skill gap.
It can never get overcrowded so long as the problems of humans keep evolving and existing. There’s always a need for someone to be there to solve that problem.
What is The learning style?
Over the years, technology has evolved. What has changed in the learning process? Is the learning style still the same?
The TechUplift program’s training is personalised to tailor different types of learning. We now have online and hybrid training styles.
We partner with learning platforms to offer FREE courses. Mentees can go online and watch the pre-recorded videos. Joining this sort of program would give mentees a sense of commitment and make them accountable to their assigned mentors.
Each week, mentees have either an assessment or a capstone project; there are mentorship sessions every week.
What makes the TechUplift unique?
What makes us unique is we remove financial barriers for spirited youth, regardless of their socio-economic background. We are increasing the employability and career readiness of participants.
We are contributing to the development of the tech workforce in Africa.
How can people enrol?
Enrolment is free and comes with a free certificate at the end of the program. We have a website for a waitlist for the second cohort. You are welcome to enrol as long as you graduate with a post-secondary school education.
Those interested can join the waitlist for cohort 2 here: https://bit.ly/TUCohort2Waitlist
As for mentors, we usually make the announcement when we need mentors.
What’s your greatest achievement so far, and future goals?
We started in January; we are barely a month old. We have commenced the first cohort with a participation rate above 80%.
By 2050, a quarter of the world’s population will be African. The global demand for African talent remains on the rise, and hence, the need for a generation of skilled African workforce. With this, flexibility to work remotely without compromising productivity is paramount. This presents a significant market opportunity for innovative solutions that maximise the potential of African human capital by providing in-demand training, like we do, closing the talent gap as we do.
We have plans to partner with educational institutions and NGOs to train more Africans and prepare them for the competitive world.