IBM Africa changing the IT landscape through the next generation of tech talent

Over the years big tech companies have been investing more and more in Africa bring about the paradigm shift in its tech landscape.

IBM Africa Skills Initiative, an initiative by IBM to address the significant skills shortage in the IT industry. I believe the initiative is what the youth really need, as a generation that is recognized worldwide for its “All Things IT” slogan, the IBM university program which an arm of Africa Skills Initiative ensures not only are students trained on the latest emerging technologies but also creating job opportunities hence taking the world a step closer to filling the unfilled tech security positions by 2020.

In July 2015, during the GES Summit IBM announced an investment of US $60 million with over three years to develop the next generation of technical talent in Africa and one year down the line, the company divulged details on the progress of the program.

“Under the IBM university program arm of the Africa Skills initiative, we have trained over 2500 Faculty members and 14,500 students across the continent on Business Analytics, Cyber Security, cloud, mobile and Big Data technologies. We have also donated state of the art Power 8 Systems to a number of universities over the last one year,” commented John Matogo, University Relations Leader for IBM in East Africa.

To support the development of certified students, IBM consultants were introduced to provide guidance to the students as they position themselves in front of potential employers. These consultants guide them in preparing their online profiles for consideration for opportunities both in Kenya and internationally.

IBM stated that it was expanding the Africa Technical Academy and the company’s Africa University Programme to over 20 African countries in more than 80 universities across Africa by 2017 back in 2015 and has ensured that
the program has grown to cover 10 countries and reached 72 universities across the continent.

The company has also introduced courses in the areas of data science and supply chain management.

“The only pleasant challenge we have faced is that the demand has surpassed what was initially forecasted. The initiative has been overwhelmingly well received. We have received interest from institutions located far from capital cities that still face last mile connectivity challenges,” added Matogo.