Young Western Cape coders graduate from skills programme
A group of Western Cape tech students have graduated from their post-matric coding programme.
Alan Winde, MEC of Economic Opportunities, congratulated the 37 students who yesterday (5 October 2016) graduated from the Western Cape Government and Oracle’s Java Post-matric Programme.
The Java Post-matric Programme was launched this year and seeks to ensure that young coders are ready for the workplace. The 37 graduates are completing six-month internships with leading digital companies in the Western Cape.
It is funded by Oracle Academy; the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism; and the Media, Information and Communications Technology Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT SETA).
MEC Winde said On the Ball College delivered the Java training and CapaCiTi assisted the students to develop their business and professional skills. CapaCiTi is the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative’s flagship programme for job readiness, skills development and placement.
"This initiative showcases what we can achieve through partnerships between the public and private sectors. The Western Cape Government has selected skills as a game-changer, with significant potential to grow the economy. This programme is playing an important role in delivering skills in the tech industry to our young people. They’re receiving the valuable on-the-job experience they need to start their careers,” said MEC Winde.
This post-matric programme builds on an existing in-school programme, which was launched in 2014.
A joint initiative by Oracle Academy, the Western Cape Department of Education, and the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism in 2014, the school programme focused on teaching grade 11 and 12 learners coding.
Over the past two years, 160 teachers have been trained in teaching Java. Training included the full academic curriculum in Java Fundamentals and Java Programming, and the Oracle Academy’s Alice and Greenfoot workshops.
Storm, one of the post-matric programme graduates, signed up for in-school Java training when he was a learner at the Cape Academy of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Cape Town.
Brown was placed in a three-month internship, which has since been extended to a 12-month fixed term contract, at Cape Town-based custom software development house DVT.
“The world is moving faster and faster towards technology and we have to adapt. I fell in love with Java because it is the leading scripting language in Africa and around the world, supported by a big company, and used in everything from cellphones to TVs.
“This business readiness training had a tremendous impact on me. Recently I gave a speech to more than 200 people. It is thanks to the CapaCiTi training that I was able to do this, ” said Brown.
Alethea Hagemann, head of the CapaCiTi skills development programme at CiTi, said: “Upskilling students on business and professional skills -- including insight into corporate culture, customer service, communication skills, personal branding and ethics -- makes their transition into the corporate world far smoother, and ensures they have a real impact on the business from day one. It’s inspiring to see the candidates, who were in grade 12 only a year ago, thriving in the corporate world as interns and forming a clearer picture of the next steps in their careers.”
Ian Merrington, CiTi chief executive officer, said: “Our reason for getting up in the morning is to grow our information economy and create jobs in the Western Cape. Working back from that purpose, we know we can’t do this alone and need to mobilise the entire ecosystem to move in the same direction. This has been a perfect example of collaborating to solve a set of interlinked challenges in a way that sets us up for economic growth, through nurturing our future innovators and makers.”
For media queries, kindly contact:
Bronwynne Jooste
Spokesperson: Alan Winde, MEC of Economic Opportunities
Tel: 021 483 3550
Cell: 060 970 4301
Email: bronwynne.jooste@westerncape.gov.za
