Microsoft and the Gauteng Department of e-Government have partnered to implement the Gauteng Azure Training programme in collaboration with Andela and Geekulcha.
The partnership aims to upskill developers in the province through an immersive programme where selected individuals will work to learn basic skills in Azure, through the Microsoft Learn platform.
The programme seeks to engage and train 3 000 developers in Gauteng, South Africa and will run until the end of June 2021.
As South Africa moves further into the Fourth Industrial Revolution and cloud technology becomes ubiquitous, the Gauteng Provincial Government has recognised the need to accelerate digital transformation and skills development in the province by investing in programmes that empower the youth with relevant, future-ready skills.
The programme forms part of the provincial government’s broader Township Economy Revitalisation (TER) strategy, which aims to ensure significant participation and meaningful inclusion of residents from traditionally underserved areas into the mainstream economy, by creating a platform for digital enablement for communities throughout the province.
It is focused on training software engineers and developers in learning the basics of Microsoft Azure, a cloud platform delivered through Microsoft-managed datacentres comprising more than 200 products and cloud services to help build, run and manage applications across multiple clouds, on-premises and at the edge.
The Gauteng Azure Training Programme is open to anyone in the province, looking to grow their Azure software development skills and learn with a community of technologists.
At the end of the programme, developers are expected to have a proficiency in Azure technologies, and have improved competency in their existing technical skills.
The learning programme will support the learners with a group of 300 volunteer Azure mentors. Learners will have an opportunity to be shortlisted to redeem a Microsoft Azure certification exam voucher to enroll and complete the exam.
“Building technical skill capability in both individuals and SMMEs is essential for South Africa to navigate rapid and ongoing digital transformation. Digital skills provide an effective tool to address unemployment and drive economic recovery and growth, making it a priority to continue investing in and partnering on critical programmes to harness these skills,” says Sikhumbuzo Ngcobo, public sector director at Microsoft South Africa.
The programme will be run by Andela, through the Andela Learning Community, which has tested and proven learning science principles relating to learner groups, transparent output tracking, and robust support communities to upskill software developers at scale across Africa.
“At Andela, through the Andela Learning Community, we are committed to working with Microsoft in supporting the growth of tech talent across the continent. We are excited for the opportunity this partnership brings and look forward to engaging with software engineers in Gauteng,” says Lina Ng’inja, talent partnerships manager at Andela.
The call for applications kicked off on 22 February and all interested applicants can apply on azure.andela.com/. Applicants are required to be above 18 years of age, be willing to dedicate 10-15 hours per week for the length of the programme, be proficient in English, and should have a passion for learning software development.
Closing date for applications is tomorrow (Friday, 12 March 2021).