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130K users enrol in the Coding for Employment digital skills program

130K users enrol in the Coding for Employment digital skills program

by | Aug 13, 2021 | Africa, Education, General, Microsoft Africa, Nigeria

coding for employment microsoft africa AfDB

The African Development Bank, AfDB, is announcing the enrolment of 130,000 users in its Coding for Employment digital skills program. The digital skills training platform was launched in December 2019 in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation and Microsoft.

The milestone comes as it works to equip African youth with information and communication technology, entrepreneurship and soft-skills training to compete in a digital economy. The program’s online platforms offer in-demand technical courses such as web development, design, data science and digital marketing for free. It is accessible on mobile devices, even in low internet connectivity settings and has an affordable, easy-to-navigate, secured and private interface. As well as in physical centers of excellence in underserved communities across Africa.

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in lockdowns and school closures across the continent, the Coding for Employment platforms experienced dramatic increases in the number of users. During a one-week period in September 2020, registrations skyrocketed by 38.5%. Through the Bank’s partnership with the Government of Nigeria and Microsoft to launch the Digital Nigeria eLearning platform during the pandemic, it has hit a combined total of 130,000 students. Registered students are achieving a course completion rate of more than 80%.

“To win the battle against poverty in Africa, we must equip our youth with digital skills that empower them for the jobs of the future,” said Martha Phiri, Director of the Bank’s Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department.

Students who took the online courses in the wake of Covid-19 in Africa said learning or honing digital skills helped them advance their careers.

“During the lockdown period, I taught myself Microsoft Excel, using the platform. Participating in the training not only smoothed my rough Excel skills but also gave me the platform to network and push myself,” said program graduate Hajara Ayuba in Nigeria.

“Thanks to the program, I met one of the major criteria – data fluency and MS Excel skills – at my present NYSC place of primary assignment in Borno State Board of Internal Revenue Service. I was later retained in the job,” Ayuba added.

“The online training program started in tandem with the opening planned upgrade of physical Coding for Employment-branded Centers of Excellence piloted in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. The Bank aims to scale up to 130 centers across the continent in a decade.”

“The pandemic accelerated the adoption of online learning as a necessity. Coding for Employment swiftly leveraged its online digital skills platform to continue to offer a gateway for African youth to become more digitally capable,” said Hendrina Chalwe Doroba, the Bank’s Division Manager for Education and Skills Development.

Following the pilot program, Coding for Employment online courses are now available in 45 countries. Some 300 beneficiaries, like Shaawanatu Shuaibu, linked Coding for Employment to getting jobs. Shuaibu a Coding for Employment program graduate from the Gombe State Center of Excellence in Nigeria, said the course had broadened her understanding of content writing.

“I was able to organize the content of my CV, which secured me a call for an interview at Jaiz Bank Plc. My performance at the interview and fluency in communication got me posted to the Customer Service Unit of the Bank,” she added.

The initiative aims to create over 9 million jobs and reach 32 million youth and women across Africa and is part of the AfDB’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative.

Click here to learn more about the African Development Bank Coding for Employment program.

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Microsoft and African Development Bank boost Nigerian women in ICT with All-Female Coding for Employment cohort

Microsoft and African Development Bank boost Nigerian women in ICT with All-Female Coding for Employment cohort

by | Apr 17, 2019 | 4Afrika, General, Hour of Code, Microsoft Africa, Microsoft Nigeria

In July 2018 Microsoft, Facebook and The Rockefeller Foundation partnered with the African Development Bank to announce Coding for Employment. An initiative seeking to bridge the digital skills divide among African youths.

To kick start the program and to celebrate women’s month Microsoft and the African Development Bank(AfDB) have started a month long all-female ICT and digital skills bootcamp on two campuses(Centres of Excellence) in Nigeria. Gombe State University and Covenant University located in Gombe and Ogun States respectively.

“The all-female cohort of the Coding for Employment Program is to increase the number of female coders, accelerate gender equality and empowerment for women and girls in the digital era“.
The program “aspires that the all-female cohort will spark an interest in more girls and young women to pursue STEM. That’s encourage them to pursue realizations in STEM related fields“.

The ADB says “the programme acts as an entry point for young female participants who are keen to find jobs within the growing ICT sector. At the end of the course, participants may continue to a more advanced level or simply use their new skills to enhance their job searches.”

AfDB program Task Manager Coding For Employment, Uyoyo Edosio spoke at the launch of the pilot scheme at the Covenant University. She said “In the next 10 years, AfDB will be working at increasing ICT Centres of Excellence in the continent. Creating over 1.9 million jobs. We are building a whole value chain from this launch”

160 young women have ben selected to participate in the month-long all-female coding class in Nigeria.

The partnership between Microsoft and the African Development Bank will continue to focus on increasing the participation of underserved youth and women while equipping youth across Africa with the skills needed to fill jobs now and in the future,” – Ghada Khalifa, Director of Philanthropies for the Middle East and Africa

Under the program so far Microsoft and the AfDB have trained 555 participants in a 3 day Hour of Code campaign. Microsoft has also trained 80 instructors in Nigeria and 60 in Kenya to deliver the basic ICT skills material. The Afbd will be launching an aggregated online training and talent portal with content from LinkedIn Learning.

The coding for employment program, still on a pilot scheme will be rolled out at 14 centres of excellence across Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Ivory Coast and Senegal.

?: Covenant University