South Africa-founded start-up ExploreAI Academy, Africa’s largest data science training institution, has partnered with ALX, a leading international technology training provider, to offer training programmes in data science and data analytics across the continent.
The partnership aims to train 25 000 African students over the next 18 months, as ALX expands its community of highly skilled professionals with qualifications that evolve with the digital economy’s demands.
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As developed economies face increasing skills shortages in the digital and tech sectors, players like ALX are increasingly looking to Africa as an emerging source of skilled young talent. The shortage of data science skills across the world is now known to be a major problem in the digital age.
A recent report by Standard Bank revealed that “the demand for data science skills has grown rapidly, (but) the supply of (these) skills … fails to match demand.”
ExploreAI Academy’s success in training data scientists has been significant, having graduated over 3 000 students in just five years, with over 90% of them employed. The majority of these graduates are from disadvantaged communities.
The partnership with ALX is a significant step forward for ExploreAI Academy, with its founder, Shaun Dippnall, saying, “We believe our model of teaching data science, data engineering, AI, and related skills is making a significant impact in addressing the dire shortage of these particular skills in South Africa and across the continent.”
The partnership with ALX has meant a swift and significant gearing up to meet the demands of the new student cohorts. The ExploreAI Academy has learned how to pivot rapidly, having shifted to online teaching during the pandemic, which opened the door to talented candidates from across the continent. The partnership with ALX is thus the next logical step for the institution.
The ExploreAI Academy is supported by a number of large corporate companies, as well as Amazon Web Services, and its parent company is now headquartered in London. It has been one of South Africa’s most successful start-ups in the past decade, proving that the country has the skills and determination to take its place with the best the world has to offer.
ALX, a division of African Leadership International (ALI), is connected to an innovative ecosystem that has been successfully producing competitive talent and placing them with the world’s top employers over the past two decades.
The partnership with ExploreAI Academy is part of its plan to transform the future of Africa by enabling 2 million young professionals to secure dignified and meaningful work opportunities by 2030. ALI chief executive and founder, Fred Swaniker, says, “Investing in African digital skills and innovation-driven learning is the best way to turn African potential into best-in-class excellence.”
The ExploreAI Academy experience has transformed the lives of numerous graduates, providing them with key skills and enabling them to accept high-earning jobs in a variety of industries. The partnership with ALX will expand its reach exponentially.
- For more information about its courses or to find out more about ALX, please visit www.alxafrica.com. More information about the courses can be found here.
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