Silicon Valley-based software engineering school Holberton School is set to open a new campus in Johannesburg.
Holberton School South Africa will welcome its first students on 24 January. Based in Johannesburg, the school aims to train highly-qualified software engineers to meet the growing demand for IT skills in the country.
In a statement, the school says around 30 students are expected for the first cohort, who will follow a 12-month programme.
With three cohorts per year, starting in January, May and September, the school says it “delivers a fast and high-quality computer science and software engineering programme for all those who wish to learn or improve their software engineering skills”.
A recent study by Wits University’s Joburg Centre for Software Engineering, in partnership with the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa, shows significant digital skills gaps persist in SA, as organisations battle to fill tens of thousands of vacancies.
Students at Holberton will, throughout their training, acquire skills required for the jobs of today and tomorrow; namely, blockchain, full-stack web development, machine learning and artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, says the school.
Holberton School South Africa is partnering with Singular Systems to offer full scholarships to the first 20 students at its new school.
“South Africa is one of the most dynamic countries in Africa when it comes to technology and innovation,” says Thulani Ntuli, director of Holberton School South Africa.
“Today, more than 80% of local companies are turning to artificial intelligence to automate their processes. But the lack of highly-skilled tech talent is preventing them to move as fast as they would need. The creation of our school is a response to this problem.”
Co-founded in Silicon Valley in 2016 by CEO Julien Barbier, Holberton School says it has enrolled more than 3 000 students worldwide across more than 30 campuses on five continents: America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
The new campus in South Africa will be the third in Africa after Tunisia, inaugurated in 2017, and Egypt, in 2021.
“South Africa is an important step for the development of Holberton School in Africa. We are delighted with the success our graduates have had since our first school launched in Africa. 100% of the first graduates from Holberton Schools in Africa have found a job, both from local and foreign companies,” says Barbier.
According to the school, faced with the technological changes the business world is experiencing, and marked by a constant need for digitalisation of processes and tools, African companies still lack qualified IT software engineers, but they are full of promising and talented young people.
It points out the opening of Holberton School South Africa is another important step for Holberton – the company behind the Holberton School network and the operating system of its education toolkit – towards its goal of training 500 000 African students by 2030.
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