Like the rest of the world, South Africa faces a shortage of digital skills, skills that are crucial in economic growth and digital innovation. As much as closing the gap may present itself as a challenge, it is actually an opportunity for young people with a passion for learning to fill.

A programme that lends itself to developing tech talent is the ayoba Developers Programme, facilitated by the Graduate School of Business - University of Cape Town , run by The Digital Academy and funded by ayoba.

The programme has been running since 2021 and, to date, has had 24 young people walk through its doors. On Wednesday, 7 December 2022, 16 young people from Philippi and surrounding areas added Full-stack Developer to their title, taking the number 40.

These 16 youngsters graduated with coding and developer skills and were celebrated at an event where the graduates presented the micro-apps they developed and received their certificates.

Esihle Nadaba from Philippi spoke of how grateful she was to be part of this programme and how it has opened doors of employment for her. “When I applied for this programme, I had no knowledge of coding, but I knew that this opportunity that has presented itself and at the end of the day, I am going to receive something here that will benefit me in the future.” she said.

Paul Nolingo, who lives in Nyanga, spoke of how this programme nurtured his curiosity and willingness to learn to code. He also added how he learnt that hard work, support and commitment are keys to success.

Yamisa Majia from Khayelitsha spoke fondly of the trying journey to success, saying, "There is no greater feeling, I assure you, than when your code is not working, and there are errors everywhere, and you fix them, and it is working again."

“Full-stack development is one of the most powerful tools to get someone into IT because they will have a broad range of skills, and it is a holistic approach to learning software development.”, mentioned Dylan Knevitt, CTO and Project Manager at The Digital Academy.

One alumni of the programme, Chumisa Cesibe, found these skills invaluable as she started a new position as a Salesforce Developer at one of South Africa’s leading banking institutions in July of 2022 while she was halfway into this programme.

For ayoba Ecosystem Development Manager Shiela Yabo, this programme is one that is close to her heart. “I believe [there is tech] talent, and we just need to reimagine how we give young people opportunities. For us [ayoba], this was one of those programmes where it is really about opening doors for young people that wouldn’t necessarily have access to. Reminding young people that they are not their circumstances" she said.

Vanessa Ramanjam, the Programme Coordinator for the UCT GSB Solution Space, expressed her pride and awe at how far these 16 students have come from the beginning of the programme in August to now.

The programme, now having 40 alumni, will run 2 more cohorts in 2023 and continue to develop and refine tech talent in Philippi and surrounds.