It’s often said that 90% of success is just showing up. In 2017, it might equally be said that success is a function of one’s ability to collaborate.

That’s the word from Andre Vermeulen, a codeX mentor who says the rise of today’s hyperconnected society means collaboration is a hot skill often raised in hiring discussions between the Cape Town-based coding academy and corporate South Africa.

“Collaboration is what distinguishes great developers from good developers, and a key skill in every workplace,” says Andre.

He was speaking at a recent codeX visit to the South African headquarters of international fintech group IPREO. Ten prospective young coders got to grips with the thinking, problem-solving and collaborative skills required to become successful developers.

codeX trains software developers in a way that enables them to quickly transition into a rewarding career while contributing at a high level almost immediately. Commerce and industry has long raised concerns about school leavers and graduates being poorly equipped for the working world. When it comes to the kind of software development that grows modern economies, codeX believes it is producing well-rounded, employable talent.

IPREO is a relatively new partner of the coding academy who has committed to hosting codeX students each month at its vibrant office environment in the Cape Town suburb of Claremont. Their technical staff quickly proved to be effective mentors and scrum masters who inject a dose of working world reality into the codeX experience.

According to Teri-Lee Pietersen, IPREO Scrum Master, the company’s objective was to take young people and put them in a real working environment. “We wanted to encourage young people to come work in our space and learn how we can all help to grow South Africa’s economy while achieving our own personal growth objectives, and those of our future employers.”

The final word belongs to codeX student, Siphamandla Mpalala: “Collaboration is about supporting each other to succeed. It’s not about who builds the best, fastest. We’re learning that software development is a team sport and playing together is how we’ll all win.”

Codex will train about 40 junior software developers during 2017.