Software and solutions specialist company DVT is looking to double the capacity of its Global Test Centre (GTC) in Cape Town with a significant increase in the intake of trainee testers and developers over the next 18 months to two years.
The DVT GTC is the largest independent software testing facility of its kind in South Africa, offering local and global companies a turnkey portfolio of testing and development services, including manual, automated, performance and regression testing for desktop, web and mobile software applications.
The company has recently moved to new, larger premises primarily to accommodate the planned GTC expansion, and DVT Western Cape managing director Jacques Fouché says the strategy is to expand further, in the foreseeable future.
“We currently employ more than 100 automation test scripters/developers in the GTC, mainly sourced from our established BEE-accredited internship and learnership programmes and our active partnerships with the Western Cape government and Microsoft,” says Fouché.
“The next step is to increase this number to 150 in the coming year, which would fill the new office. One of the added benefits of Northgate Park is that we have the option to extend our footprint in the same building to accommodate an additional 250 staff.”
Fouché says the planned expansion will position the DVT GTC as a strategic global resource for companies looking for follow-the-sun software testing services.
“Scrum Teams in time zones to the east and west of South Africa can rely on sprint based testing as well as regression testing being done, while they sleep. Their test results will be available as they arrive back at work the following morning. It’s a unique proposition which makes particular business sense in light of the time zone differences as well as the positive exchange rate enjoyed by companies to the east and west of Africa.”
“We already work with UK clients, and we’re looking to work with more clients in the UK and Europe in general. Not only will the new projects require more hands-on skills, but in the longer term we see ourselves as an incubator of skills, playing an important role in the IT ecosystem, helping address the critical IT skills shortage in South Africa.”
DVT currently has four intake streams for new trainees. The first two, which have been running concurrently for several years, include the DVT Internship for qualified university graduates, and the DVT Learnership for high school learners that show an affinity for software development.
The company is also part of the Western Cape Government’s CapaCiTi initiative, which seeks to streamline young candidates into technology-related careers, and enjoys a longstanding partnership with Microsoft, which earns several aspiring trainees access to NQF Level qualification courses through Microsoft’s training facilities.
“The majority of our trainees come through our internal training programmes, with a smaller number sourced through CapaCiTi and Microsoft,” says Fouché. “Next year we’re launching our own internal NQF Level 5 training programme while continuing to ramp up the intake from our other programmes. This will spur the next stage in the development of the GTC.”
DVT officially unveils its new Cape Town premises on Monday 29 August, with the next major intake of trainees scheduled for October 2016.
